You've Got A Friend In Me
by Demon ninja of the leaf
Summary: Sequel to The Note. Mike finds a new friend in none other than Santana Lopez, much to Tina's disapproval.
1. Chapter 1

**Surprise! I know people were asking for a sequel to 'The Note' and I've decided to write one. This is a multi Chapter fic and will be taking place all throughout season 2. I realized that I never specified when all the drama of 'The Note' took place so I've started this story fairly early on in the season (sometime after 'The Substitute') and will continue from there. Enjoy.**

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><p>It's been a week since Mike confronted Santana and offered his hand in friendship. Not much has changed but he hasn't lost all hope. Sure Santana may still isolate herself in glee sometimes but Mike has managed to get her to smile a few times and on one occasion laugh; he felt very proud of himself that day. Mike has also taken it upon himself to make sure he says 'hi' to Santana every day; it breaks his heart how happy she looks that someone is even willing to talk to her.<p>

Mike's making his way to physics when he sees Santana looking forlornly in her locker, he slowly made his way through the crowded hallway over to her.

"Hey Santana, how are you?" Mike asked quietly.

"I-I flushed them last night." She replied cryptically.

"Flushed what?"

Santana glanced at him briefly before looking back into her locker. Mike realized this was the only way she was able to have the courage to say what she was going to say.

"The sleeping pills I was going to use to- I got rid of them." Santana glanced at him again.

Mike let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled brightly at Santana, "I'm glad. I would've missed you if you went through with it."

Santana snorted, "I highly doubt anyone would've missed me, maybe Brittany but that's it."

Mike frowned, "I would've missed you. Glee isn't the same without you. Your comments are funny…sometimes. Mean, but funny."

Santana managed a half smile and turned to face Mike fully, "Thanks."

The warning bell rang and Santana closed her locker before saying goodbye and making her way to class. Mike sighed, he wasn't very good at the whole making friends thing. Matt and he had been together since kindergarten and he was the one to approach Mike in an attempt to make friends. Mike felt a pang in his chest at the thought of Matt. He had tried to keep in touch but long distance calls to DeKalb aren't exactly cheap; much to Mike's displeasure the two had slowly drifted apart, only sending one another a facebook message every now and then. Mike shook his head to get rid of depressing thoughts and quickly made his way to class.

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><p>It was the lunch time and Mike was making his way towards the cafeteria when he noticed Santana and Brittany standing at their lockers talking. It was the first time in a while that Mike had seen Santana's face light up and she actually look happy and it made Mike smile in return.<p>

Well, until Artie showed up. Mike watched as Brittany's attention suddenly shifted from Santana to Artie and Santana looked none too happy about that fact. She was even more upset when Brittany grabbed her things and proceeded to let Artie give her a ride to class. They rode straight pass him but Mike was frozen in place by the look of hurt on Santana's face before she turned and ran off.

What was he supposed to do? Was he to run off after her or wait until he saw her next and ask her what happened? Before Mike could come to a decision he felt someone take his hand. Looking over he saw Tina and smiled.

"Hey." Tina said as she cuddled up to his side.

"Hey back. Aren't you going to be late?" Mike asked

"No, it's only art. As long as I get there before she takes attendance I'm fine." Tina responded before leaning up for a kiss, one that Mike happily obliged.

"Walk me to class?" Tina asked after their little make out session was over.

"Of course." Mike walked Tina to class while listening to her retell the latest antics of Jacob and Azimio.

Glee's a bit boring now when being compared to Ms. Holliday's brief stint as glee director but Mike is still happy the Mr. Shue is feeling better and able to return back to work. He isn't really paying attention to Mr. Shue at the moment because he currently focused on swinging his and Tina's joined hands back and forth between their chairs; that and the depressed Latina sitting next to him who's currently glaring holes into the back of Artie's head. Mike just happens to catch Santana quickly look away when Brittany leans over to plant a quick kiss on Artie's cheek. Santana folds her arms and Mike can see her holding herself again.

Mike sees that Tina is preoccupied with whispering something to Mercedes and Mike takes that as his queue to talk to Santana.

"Hey what's up?" Mike whispers, trying not to get caught talking.

"I don't get why they have to flaunt their little love affair in front of everyone. It's disgusting." Santana snapped. Mike was surprised by the venom in her voice and didn't know how to respond. He didn't get a chance to as Rachel was in front and beginning to sing her solo for the week.

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><p>It's Thursday and Mike is sitting in the cafeteria wondering what the mystery ingredient is in the spaghetti. It looks like cheese but tastes like some sort of meat; Mike continues to eat it only briefly wondering if he'll wake up the next morning.<p>

"What in the hell are you eating?"

Mike looks up to see Santana sitting in the seat across from him. Mike was actually surprised to see her sitting next to him. He had known they shared the same lunch period but Santana had usually always sat with Brittany. Had their friendship deteriorated that much that they were no longer sitting together?

Mike looked over to Santana's usual table and saw Brittany sitting in Artie's lap and feeding him bites from his lunch. At least he now had his answer as to why Santana was sitting with him today. But the question is now what do they talk about? They ate in silence while Mike racked his brain for topics to talk about. Surely it couldn't be this hard to strike up a conversation.

"So the football team is looking pretty good this year." Santana said suddenly breaking the awkward silence.

Mike looked up, "Yeah, thanks to Coach Bieste I think we actually have a chance at bringing home a trophy."

Silence settled in once again and Mike continued to eat his lunch hoping Santana would say something or he would miraculously come up with something to talk about.

"Look at them; they could at least tone it down a bit. Why the fuck does she _have_ to sit in his lap?" Santana spat out suddenly.

"You sound jealous." Mike replied calmly. A peculiar look passed on Santana's face so quickly that if Mike hadn't been already staring at her, he would've thought he had imagined it.

"I am not jealous. He's taking up time that I could be spending with Brittany. If you haven't noticed I don't take to kindly to sharing."

Mike swallowed and nodded quietly, of course he noticed how Santana didn't like to share. She's gotten in more than her fair share of fights over Puck and Mike was pretty sure she didn't even like him.

"You know, you're so quiet that I'm still surprised every time you open your mouth and sound comes out."

"Just because I don't talk as much as Rachel doesn't mean I can't talk. I'm more of a listener anyways." Mike shot back.

"Fiesty, who would've known. You're not half bad Chang." Santana said while finishing off her tater tots.

"I'm really glad Principal Sylvester took off the ban on tater tots. Mercedes went a little crazy." Mike said proud of himself for contributing to the conversation.

"You think she went crazy, should've seen me when Coach Sylvester gave me the order to dump the damn things. I know she did it to get to me. The woman's had it out for me ever since I –" Santana stopped suddenly but Mike could fill in the blanks, ever since she got a boob job. So Ms. Sylvester was picking on Santana. It shouldn't shock him as much as it does but he can't help but feel upset that a teacher would single out a student and pick on them.

It takes Mike a moment to realize that he had been staring at Santana's enlarged chest before he quickly looked away.

"It's okay you know. To look, everyone else does." Santana said quietly.

Mike faced her. Santana's eyes were lowered to her plate and she didn't look comfortable in the least bit.

"No." Mike stated suddenly. Santana quickly looked up to face him.

"I won't do that to you, it's disrespectful. I didn't mean to stare at you Santana it was an accident. It won't happen again." Mike said sincerely.

The look of shock on Santana's face was a little disconcerting. Hasn't anyone ever said that to her?

"No one's ever apologized for ogling me before." Santana managed to stutter out after she got over her initial shock. Mike had his answer, were people really that rude? Nevermind, he realized how stupid that question was.

"I'm sorry to hear that. People should really learn better manners." Mike replied and Santana chuckled.

"Yeah."

The bell signaling that the period was over rang and Santana thanked him before leaving for class. All in all Mike feels that he made a lot of progress with Santana today. Hopefully one day they'll be really good friends, maybe it'll fill that gaping hole in his heart that Matt's transfer caused. Mike got up and made his way out of the cafeteria to meet up with Tina.

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><p>Mike was walking Tina to her car after school when he felt her stop. Turning around Mike looked at Tina questioningly.<p>

"Is something wrong?"

Tina took a deep breath before looking at him, "Mercedes told me that you and Santana spent lunch together."

Mike didn't like the look on Tina's face and his instincts told him to proceed with caution, "Yeah, surprised me more than anything really. Why?"

"It's just that you guys don't normally sit next to one another and yesterday I saw the two of you talking in glee, and don't think I haven't noticed how you go out of your way to talk to her every day now. Now today I have to find out from _Mercedes and Kurt_ that you and Santana ate lunch together. Why didn't you tell me?" Tina ranted, slightly out of breath.

"I didn't think it would matter. She sat down at the table on her own. It's not like I could tell her to move to another table, it's a free country Tina she can sit where she wants." Mike shot back not liking what Tina was implying about him. He was no cheater.

Tina sighed, "Your right I'm sorry. I went too far."

"Don't you trust me?" Mike asked quietly.

"Of course I do. It's her I don't trust. You've seen how Santana likes to break up relationships and steal people's boyfriends for fun. Take Finn and Rachel for example." Tina said while continuing to her car.

"Wait what? Finn and Rachel? What do they have to do with anything?" Mike asked.

"Haven't you heard? Santana slept with Finn. It's been going around the whole glee club."

"Tina you know I don't like to listen to gossip. It's more wrong than right most of the time anyways." Mike replied as they finally reached Tina's car.

"Look believe it or not it's true. Ask her yourself, I bet she won't deny it." Tina said before getting in her car and pulling off.

Mike stood in the parking lot watching her drive away. Santana had slept with Finn? Then why was Finn going around letting everyone believe he was a virgin. He'd even said so in the locker room last week. Mike was at a loss on what to think, he would have to go straight to the source but he didn't know either of them enough to start asking questions of their sex life.

"What are you staring at?" Mike jumped into the air and quickly turned around to see Santana and Brittany standing behind him.

"What are you a ninja? Why do you keep sneaking up on me?" Mike snapped while clutching his chest.

Santana smirked, "You still didn't answer my question."

"You really didn't Mike. You can't answer a question with another question either, it's not fair." Brittany agreed.

Great, they were tag teaming him, "I was seeing Tina off. Now answer my question."

"We weren't sneaking up on you silly; you're standing next to my car." Brittany giggled out. Mike turned and looked at the car next to him; sure enough it was Brittany's.

"Oh. Sorry 'bout that." Mike said stepping away.

"Try to be more observant Chang. Britt can you hurry and take me home? My back and knees are killing me."

"Cheer practice that hard today?" Mike asked with concern.

"Yeah, ever since Coach put Santana at the bottom of the pyramid" Brittany explained.

"Britt!" Santana hissed.

"Sorry." Brittany pouted.

"Wait she put you at the bottom of the pyramid? Why?"

"Just forget about it okay. It doesn't matter I'll make my way back up to the top." Santana snapped before getting in the car and closing the door, effectively putting an end to the conversation. Brittany gave him an apologizing look before getting in the car. She waved goodbye to him and pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared down the road. Mike sighed before heading to his own car.

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><p>It's Friday and Mike can't wait for the weekend. He can't help but smile brightly at the thought of his date with Tina on Saturday and still can't believe how lucky he was to get a girl like her. Contrary to popular belief Tina is his first girlfriend. Mike still doesn't understand why many people in school think he some sort of player, he's not nor will he ever be Puck.<p>

Classes are a bore and when the bell rings Mike all but runs out of the classroom in order to the front of the lunch line. He woke up late and skipped breakfast after spending the night wondering why Santana was placed at the bottom of the pyramid and why Finn was going around lying about his virginity. Especially to Rachel, who was going through her relationship with him thinking that Finn was a virgin, it wasn't right.

Sitting down at his regular lunch table, he's got pizza today; it isn't long before Mike is joined by Santana. A quick glance over his shoulder reveals Brittany and Artie happily talking and feeding each other their food.

"So, you and Tina. How in the world did that happen?" Santana asked suddenly.

Mike smiled thinking of his girlfriend, "Well this one time at Asian camp-"

Santana burst out into laughter, "You really didn't just do that."

"What?"

"This one time at band camp." Santana replied before giggling again. Mike stared at her blankly, was he missing something?

"I don't get it." He said voicing his confusion.

Santana's jaw dropped, "You've never seen American Pie?"

"No, my parents just started letting me watch rated R movies last year. I have a lot to catch up on." Mike explained quietly.

"I'll say."

"Doesn't help that the first time they watched a rated R movie with me it was when we were doing Rocky Horror." Mike continued.

"Holy sweet hell, how did they react?" Santana asked sitting on the edge of her seat as if he was telling a suspense story.

"We got as far as 'Sweet Transvestite' before my mom freaked out and turned the movie off. That was when they pulled me out of the play. I think she was traumatized and then imagining me wearing the same thing made it worse." Mike finished his story before taking a bite of his pizza.

Santana laughed, "Your poor mom. That movie is a really something if you don't know what to expect."

"Yeah, so any movie stories you got to share? I mean it's only fair." Mike asked seeing this as his chance to get to know Santana better.

"Let me think…. This one time when I was younger I took it upon myself to watch 'An American Werewolf in London' by myself in the dark. I had to be about twelve or thirteen, I don't really remember. Anyways, it got to the part where the guy had one of his nightmares and this one scene freaked me out so much I jumped up from the couch and ran from the tv. I was so scared I was shaking and I was still in the dark part of the house and I kid you not I swear that when I looked behind me I saw that damn demon standing next to me. I ran through the house until I found my parents, haven't liked the dark since then." Santana finished her story and looked up to face him.

Mike stared at her in silence for a brief moment before responding, "That's super creepy. You don't have ghost or anything in your house do you?"

"No, apparently it's just a figment of my overactive imagination. At least that's what my dad says. Needless to say I don't watch horror films much." Santana informed Mike before checking the time on her phone.

"Shit! I gotta go; I need to study for my history test before I fail, again." Santana quickly gathered her things and ran out of the cafeteria before Mike could even say goodbye. Mike sighed and finished off his pizza before he was joined by Kurt and Mercedes.

"Hey." Mike greeted them calmly.

"Don't 'hey' us. Spill, why are you and Santana suddenly bosom buddies?" Kurt asked cutting to the chase.

"We just sit together during lunch. I didn't think that was a crime." Mike answered suspicious of the two in front of him. He very vividly remembered these two being the cause of Tina becoming suspicious of him.

"And the intense conversation you two were having just moments ago before she saw us and ran?" Mercedes asked.

"Santana said she had a history test to study for. " Mike shrugged.

"A likely story, you've got an excuse for everything, don't you? Look we all know Santana doesn't just make friends with guys. She's got her eyes on you and I'm not about to let my girl Tina get hurt." Kurt said.

"Look I don't know what ideas you two have forming in your heads about me and Santana but we only sat together at the same lunch table, had a conversation like two civilized human beings, and I don't appreciate the two of you gossiping to my girlfriend behind my back and having her suspicious of me going behind her back." Mike snapped at the two shocked teens before grabbing his things and leaving the cafeteria.

Mike couldn't wait for the weekend.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it. Also, I'm going to be starting school soon so I'm probably not going to be able to update this story on a regular basis. I will try for every two weeks at least but you never know when life, or teachers, may get in the way. Until next time.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, time for a new chapter. I decided to be nice and not wait until Friday like I had originally planned. Enjoy.**

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><p>Mike woke up early that Saturday morning excited for his date later today. He had wanted to see that movie 'Secretariat' for a while now and Tina finally agreed to see it with him. It's not that he minded but Mike could only go to the show with him mom so many times before people started to talk. He cleaned himself up and went downstairs into the kitchen where his mother was currently making breakfast.<p>

"Hello, you're up early." Mrs. Chang greeted her son.

"Morning. That smells really good." Mike replied looking over his mother's shoulder to see what she was cooking; pancakes with eggs, bacon, and grits.

"Go sit down, breakfast will be ready soon." Mrs. Chang said shooing him away from her. Mike smiled and went to go find his father. Walking into the living room Mike found his father sitting on the couch sipping a cup of coffee and watching the news.

"Morning." Mike said sitting next to his dad.

"Morning."

They sat in silence for a moment both watching a news story about a mugging, at which his dad shook his head.

"What is this world coming to?"

"Don't know. I guess people are desperate." Mike replied while shrugging.

"Yeah, so what are you up to today?" Mr. Chang asked turning to face Mike.

"I've got a date with Tina."

"Is that so? Where to?"

"We're going to the movies. I want to see that movie Secretariat" Mike replied.

"That one with the race horse?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it seems interesting. Don't do anything that'll get you into trouble." Mr. Chang said with a smirk.

Mike blinked, "What in the world would we be doing in the movie theater?"

Mr. Chang laughed, "You'd be surprised by what goes on in theaters."

Mike shook his head at his dad's antics. Before he could contribute further to this weird conversation his mother stuck her head into the doorway, "Breakfast is ready you two."

"Thank goodness." Mike mumbled quickly getting up and walking away from his laughing father.

Breakfast was an interesting affair as Mike filled his parents in on the happenings of his week. They both thoroughly enjoyed listening to Mike's stories of the drama that went on in the glee club; it was like their own real life soap opera. Of course he left more private things out; like Santana being suicidal or various things about people's sexual history.

"I think I've made a friend." Mike announced suddenly which caught his parent's attention.

"Oh? That's good; you need a friend after Matt moved." Mr. Chang said happily.

"Who is it?" Mrs. Chang asked.

"Santana."

"Who?" Mr. Chang asked

"The Hispanic girl I told you about. She's a cheerleader." Mike clarified.

"That's good to hear. I was a bit worried with you only hanging out with Tina. Having a girlfriend is nice but you need other people to hang out with." Mrs. Chang said.

Breakfast was finished and Mike helped his mother clean the kitchen afterwards. After they finished Mike noticed it was time for him to get ready for his date with Tina. They had decided to go out in the early afternoon because Tina had to go to her cousin's party later that same day. Mike had just grabbed his wallet and keys and headed downstairs when his mother stopped him.

"Just a minute Mike, I need you to drop me off at your grandmother's house."

"Okay, what's going on at grandma's?" Mike asked.

"Your grandfather just got back from the hospital. You know he had his knee surgery not too long ago; I want to check and make sure everything is okay. I would've taken you father's car but he just got called in." Mrs. Chang explained.

"It's fine mom. Grandma's is on the way anyways, I'll have to pick up Tina first if you don't mind." Mike said. Internally he sighed; Tina was not going to be happy with his mom tagging along on yet _another _date.

Mike watched as his mother walked off to get everything she would need for her visit and decided to give Tina a heads up.

"Hello?" Tina answered.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know my mom wants me to drop her off at my grandmother's before we head to the show." Mike informed her nervous of her reaction.

Tina sighed, "If my step-dad hadn't taken my car to get the brakes fixed I would've so picked you up instead."

"I'm sorry but hey, at least she's not coming on the date with us this time." Mike said optimistically.

"But she's still going to be there glaring at me. I was just hoping for one date where she wasn't there at all." Tina whined.

"It'll be okay." Mike said almost exasperated. He was tired of having the same argument over and over with Tina.

"I don't see why she can't just get her own car and drive wherever she wants whenever she wants." Tina continued.

"Tina, we're technically using her car. Remember she let me drive it because she and my dad work at the same hospital. It was more practical to just carpool to work." Mike explained resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Fine, whatever. Call me when you're outside my house." Tina said before hanging up. Mike put up his phone and sighed, this date wasn't starting off on very good legs. Hopefully it would get better.

"Ready?" Mrs. Chang asked walking over to where Mike stood.

"Yeah, let's go."

They both got in the car and Mike made his way over to Tina's house. It wasn't long before Tina was picked up and they made their way to Mike's grandmother's house. The car ride there was quiet and tense. Mike knew that his mom didn't really like Tina and the same could be said for his girlfriend but Mike didn't really know what to do about it. He had tried to fill the silence with the radio but it only caused his mom and Tina to argue about what stations to play. Tina wanted to listen to music from the more mainstream radio stations but his mom wanted to listen to smooth jazz, in the end the radio was turned off. Finally they made it to his grandmother's house and mom left the car.

Tina climbed in the front seat, "At least she's gone now."

"You could try to be a bit nicer." Mike said quietly while pulling out of the driveway and continuing to the movie theater.

"I'm trying but every time I say anything she turns it into an argument. It's not my fault your mom doesn't like me." Tina grumbled before turning to look out the window angrily.

Making their way into the theater Mike paid for tickets and popcorn and let Tina pick out where they were going to sit. There weren't many people in the theater due to the time and that the movie had been out for a while but that didn't stop Tina from picking seats all the way in the back. Mike was thoroughly engrossed in the movie and hardly noticed the multiple times Tina would hold his hand or put her hand on his thigh. It wasn't until Mike heard Tina yawn that he realized that he was the only one enjoying the movie. He kind of felt bad but the movie was almost over and they would soon be out.

Exiting the theater Mike turned to Tina, "How did you like the movie?"

"It was okay. Movies like that are predictable because you know the underdog is going to win in the end." Tina replied.

"I guess so." Mike said. It was a bit disappointing that they were still having a hard time finding common interests but he really liked Tina and was willing to continue trying.

Mike drove Tina home letting her listen to her radio station of choice, not letting on that he didn't like this type of music; he was a country music kind of guy but Tina hated it. He cringed and griped the steering wheel tightly when a Ke$ha song came on and Tina decided to turn it up very loudly. Mercifully he finally reached Tina's house, by this time the music had put her in a much better mood and him in a much worse one. Tina kissed him goodbye and headed off to her front door, once making sure she was inside Mike quickly turned the radio from the crap blaring through his speakers onto something more soothing.

Mike made his way home and spent the rest of the evening watching his favorite French film 'Wasabi' after receiving a call from his mother informing him that his grandfather was doing fine and that she would be getting a ride home with his father. The movie had just finished by the time his parents came home with Mexican take out. It wasn't long after that Mike went to bed early, not wanting to answer questions about his disaster of a date.

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><p>Walking down the halls on Monday with Tina hanging off his arm, Mike wondered at how she could pretend that everything was going great between them to the rest of the world after that failure of a date. They made their way to their afternoon meeting of glee and right as they walked through the door Tina ran off to Mercedes and Kurt to gossip. Mike spotted Santana sitting in her usual seat away from everyone else and Mike took the empty seat next to her.<p>

"So how was your weekend?" Santana asked as he sat down.

Mike sighed, "It was good."

Santana raised an eyebrow, "Really? Because the sigh before you said that sounded nothing like 'fine' to me."

"I went to the movies." Mike said.

"What did you see?" Santana asked suddenly interested in the conversation.

"I went to see Secretariat, with Tina."

"I saw that, surprisingly good movie." Santana responded.

"You liked it?" Mike asked completely surprised.

"Yeah, I take it Tina didn't?" Santana responded.

"She said it was predictable. I think she wasn't more interested because it wasn't one of those romantic comedies she likes." Mike said with a shrug.

Santana snorted, "Talk about predictable."

Mike laughed in agreement. Their conversation was interrupted by Tina who had taken her seat next to Mike and grabbed onto his arm possessively. Mike saw her glare at Santana who rolled her eyes and turned to face Mr. Shue who had just walked into the room and started today's meeting. They had spent the rest of the meeting trying to come up with a set list for sectionals.

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><p>Sitting in his quiet spot at the back of the library, Mike was happy to finally have some time to himself. All throughout glee and the rest of the school day Tina had chewed him out about being 'overly' friendly with Santana. Mike still didn't understand what the problem was; all he did was have a conversation with Santana about his weekend. People did that all the time with no ulterior motives in sight. Mike shook his head to clear his mind; he had way more important things to think about. Mike reached for his bookbag and pulled out a big, thick, black binder, it was his study material for the upcoming academic decathlon competition. The Brainiacs had a competition next weekend and Mike planned on winning this one and bringing another medal home.<p>

Mike had been studying for about twenty minutes before he felt someone sit next to him. Looking over Mike was surprised to see that it was Santana. Before Mike could open his mouth and ask her what she was doing here and why she was out of Cheerio practice early, Santana reached over, grabbed a hold of his arm, and buried her face in his shoulder. Mike was at a lost on what to do as the amount of awkward increased tenfold by her actions.

Mike sat in silence for a few tense moments before he cleared his throat, "Umm… Santana… what…"

"Can I just stay like this for a moment?" She asked quietly.

"O-okay." Mike stuttered in reply. He turned back to his notes and tried to relax. After a few minutes Mike was so busy concentrating on his notes on economics that he had briefly forgotten that Santana was there. He was just turning the page when he heard the first sniffle. It was completely out of the blue and caught him by surprise to the point that Mike stopped what he was doing and looked over and saw that Santana was silently shaking with sobs.

Mike froze, how was he supposed to deal with a crying female? The awkwardness came back and Mike quickly scanned the room for help. Seeing no one Mike accepted that he would have to do something about it himself.

"Santana?" was all he was able to come up with.

Santana quickly turned away from him and wiped away her tears, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Why are you crying?"

Santana glanced at him, "No reason, it's stupid. I'll see you later." Santana grabbed her things and started to rise.

"No wait." Mike tried to stop her but Santana was gone and he was left alone completely confused about what was going on.

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><p>Mike lay awake in his bed staring up at his ceiling lost in thought about the various worries of his young life. Mike wondered if things between Tina and him would get better or if he would have to break it off, if the Brainiacs would make it to Nationals this year, and more pressing Mike wondered what was going on with Santana in the library. Looking over at his clock Mike saw that it was 12:30 and tried harder to fall asleep; around one he found himself drifting off into a restless sleep.<p>

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><p>The next day Mike spends his morning classes anxious to get to lunch; he was determined to ask Santana what was going on with her yesterday. Normally he doesn't push for answers and wait for people to tell him things in their own time but Mike couldn't keep his mind from going to the worst possible scenarios and he needed answers before he went crazy.<p>

The bell signaling the end of class had Mike quickly packing up his things and rushing out of the door to the cafeteria and his usual table; he silently nibbled on his sandwich and kept an eye out for Santana. When he spotted her making her way to the table Mike straightened in his seat mentally preparing for the upcoming confrontation. His eye furrowed in confusion when at the last moment Santana swerved and walked back out of the cafeteria. Mike was just about to follow her when Tina, Kurt, and Mercedes sat down at the table with him.

"Tina what are you doing here?" Mike asked. He was a little upset that his plans were sidetracked.

"You don't sound very happy to see me." Tina replied while frowning.

"Disappointed that you couldn't spend lunch with Santana?" Kurt asked suspiciously.

"It's not that, I'm just surprised. Don't you have class right now?" Mike asked his girlfriend.

"I've got a sub today, decided to skip." Tina shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh." Mike managed to say before turning back to his food. He just didn't understand how people could skip class, the thought of getting caught while skipping freaked him out too much to consider it.

"So did you guys hear the news?" Kurt asked, gossip mode in full swing.

"No what about?" Mercedes asked.

"Well I heard some cheerios talking and apparently Ms. Sylvester chewed out Santana yesterday for messing up a routine." Kurt gossiped to the other two. This bit of news caught Mike's attention and made him look up.

"From what I gathered it was really bad, like she ran out of the gym in tears kind of bad." Kurt continued.

Mike frowned, no wonder Santana held onto him for dear life and cried into his shoulder; that sounded horrible. What in the world went on during those cheerio practices?

"That's so sad." Mike muttered out. The others looked at him like he had just grown a third head.

"Excuse me? After all the stuff that she says to us on a regular basis, it's about time that karma came back to bite her in the ass." Mercedes huffed and the others nodded in agreement.

"But-" Mike started.

"Mike whose side are you on?" Tina asked angrily.

"I don't see why there has to be sides. How could she have possibly deserved to be brought to tears by a teacher?" Mike asked not seeing the logic to their logic.

"You may not understand but Santana bullies us on a regular basis. Some of the things she says are downright offensive, so don't expect us to feel sorry for her when she gets a taste of her own medicine." Kurt explained.

Mike just sighed, since when did two wrongs make a right? Did they really not see that Santana was being bullied herself? All the cheerios really, Sue was one of the biggest bullies at this school and the cheerios had to put up with her on a regular basis. Maybe Santana was just lashing out at the other glee club members because she was hurting too. Mike looked at the others who had continued to gossip and laugh about Santana's misfortune, he couldn't believe people could be so uncaring about others behind that person's back. It was no wonder why they always had some sort of drama going on with each other, Mike wasn't even sure most of the people in the club liked one another; it was like a bunch of cliques forced to be on the same team and work together.

Mike quickly finished his lunch and began to pack his things; he couldn't be around their hateful gossip anymore.

"Where are you going?" Tina asked.

"I've got to go study." Mike replied not really trying to hide his annoyance with the three of them. He let Tina give him a peck on the cheek before walking out of the cafeteria and to the library. Heading over to his spot Mike was surprised to see Santana sitting there, looking frustrated with whatever she was working on. Mike sat down next to her just as Santana threw down her pencil in frustration.

"Hey." He greeted. Santana looked at him briefly before latching onto his arm and resuming her position from yesterday.

It was silent for a few moments before Mike decided to speak, "I heard about Ms. Sylvester yelling at you yesterday."

Mike was completely unprepared for his comment to cause Santana to burst into tears. He swallowed before pulling Santana into a hug and letting her cry on his shoulder. It was a long time before the tears stopped but Mike kept holding her until Santana pulled out of the hug and wiped away her tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mike asked hesitantly.

Santana stayed silent and Mike thought that she wasn't going to answer him, "I'm used to all the other demeaning things she says, like how if the pyramid fails at least the sandbags on my chest will break the other cheerios' fall or how I should just quit the team and go back across the border where I came from. I'm even used to her offering me a job cleaning her house or pretending that I'm illiterate and don't understand English. But when she called me out in front of the entire team, for one fucking missed step, and said that she knew that I was used to laying on my back and expecting guys to do all the work but in practice I have to actually put forth some effort and do the routine right. That's when I lost it."

Mike stared at her horrified at the things she was telling him. What type of teacher gets away with that?

"Did you tell your parents? She can't just get away with something like that?" Mike asked.

Santana laughed bitterly, "Do you think I'm the first cheerio that's ever happened to? Plenty of others have told their parents about the things that go on during practice but she gets away with it every time. What made it worse was that not one person was willing to stand up for me, hell most of them laughed."

"Santana, there you are." Brittany said interrupting their conversation.

Mike saw Santana's eyes harden and her defenses shoot up, "What? Shouldn't you be hanging out with suspenders McGee?"

Brittany stopped short surprised by Santana's coldness towards her. "I just, I haven't seen you all day and I was worried. I usually see you at lunch but you weren't there today."

"Look I'm fine. I was just working on my homework, forget about it." Santana sighed out before beginning to pack her things. Brittany stepped forward to stop Santana but she stepped out of Brittany's reach.

"Did I do something wrong?" Brittany asked sadly.

"What? No, no. Look, I've got to go." Santana said while shouldering her backpack. She left the two of them behind without looking back. Brittany and Mike sat in silence while he thought about what he just witnessed.

"I just don't get it. What did I do wrong?" Brittany asked him suddenly and Mike could only shrug.

"We were doing just fine until we went on that double date with Puck and Artie, now she's avoiding me. I miss hanging out with her and talking about the things that we used to." Brittany went on.

"Was this around the time you and Artie started dating?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, and I stopped giving her sweet lady kisses because I didn't want to cheat on Artie." Brittany explained which caused Mike's eyes to widen. Sweet lady kisses? Santana and Brittany made out? What was really going on between the two of them?

"Maybe she's just not used to you dating Artie. Santana just needs time to get used to it." Mike said scrambling for and explanation to help out Brittany.

"I guess so." Brittany said sadly before saying goodbye and leaving the library herself.

This was crazy, just when he figures something out about Santana something else comes along and shows how much he really doesn't know her. Santana and Brittany made out with each other and from the way Brittany spoke it sounded like they did it often. It was then that Mike remembered the two's standing deal with boys who took them out on dates. _'You buy us dinner and we make out in front of you.'_ From the sounds of it Brittany really liked those moments but the question is, did Santana? Mike just sat there and stared off into space and pondered this bit of information, there was no way he was going to be able to study now.

* * *

><p><strong>And that ends another chapter. Did you like it? Yes? No? Maybe? Tell me about it.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**So it's Friday and as you know it's time for another chapter. There's a rather lengthy author's note at the end just to inform you of a few things; get you thinking on a few things. Enjoy.**

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><p>Later that week, on a lovely Friday morning, Mike wandered through the hallway with Tina swinging their entwined hands while humming a song. He was thoroughly enjoying his time with Tina and even hummed along with her as they made their way to her next class. Mike turned to her and smile before gently shoulder bumping her which caused her to giggle and do the same. Mike laughed and looked down the hall and spotted Santana. He was just about to wave at her when Santana looked in his direction and quickly walked the other way without acknowledging him in the least bit. Mike frowned in confusion; was Santana avoiding him?<p>

"Is something wrong?" Tina asked.

Mike turned to her and saw concern written all over her face, "No. I'm fine."

"Oh okay." Tina replied and continued to swing their hands. Mike decided he'd figure out why Santana is avoiding him later.

"Hey my parents are working late today, do you want to come over? I could help you study. You've got that competition this weekend right?" Tina asked quickly.

Mike smiled, "Sure that sounds great. You could quiz me."

"So you'll come by my place after football practice?" Tina asked.

"Yeah." Mike answered before leaning down and kissing her. The kiss quickly turned into a full blown make out session. It was moments like this that reminded Mike why he stayed with Tina even when they had fights.

"We should probably get to class." Tina said as she broke away when the need for air became too much to ignore. Mike pouted and Tina giggled before giving him another quick kiss. He smiled and they both made their way to class.

* * *

><p>It was official, Santana was avoiding him. All throughout the day Mike had seen her purposefully ignore him or turn the other way when they were walking down the same hallway, she didn't even sit with him at lunch today. Mike sighed as he threw his football stuff in the trunk of his car and made his way to Tina's house; he'd figure what's wrong with Santana later, when he can finally get her to stop ignoring him. Making his way up the driveway, Mike was enthusiastically met by Tina who quickly ushered him in the house and they both sat down in the living room. Mike smiled at Tina's eagerness and reached down to get his binder.<p>

Tina looked down at the admittedly large binder and stared at Mike, "What in the world? Why is it so huge?"

Mike laughed, "It's all the study material that I need for the season."

"So, where do we start?" Tina asked

"It's the economics section. There are some sample test questions in there that you can ask me."

"Okay." Tina nodded as she looked through the material. There was a brief moment of silence as Tina looked at what questions she wanted to ask first and Mike mentally went over all the information that he had studied.

"First question, what is economics?" Tina asked looking at Mike expectantly.

"You know you've could've started me off with a harder question, right?" Mike stated.

"Mike, everyone knows that it's often the easiest question that you make the mistake on. Now answer the question." Tina admonished.

"It's the study of how to allocate scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants." Mike stated.

"Correct." Tina announced as she leaned over and

"Hey." Mike pouted. gave him a kiss. Mike had tried to deepen the kiss but Tina had already pulled away.

"That was for getting the question right. If you want another kiss, answer another question correctly." Tina teased. Mike stared at her for a moment before he smiled; he had never before been this motivated to get the right answer.

"Alright then, next question." Mike said and Tina smiled before looking down to choose another question.

* * *

><p>Mike made it home, after a rather successful study session (he didn't mind having another one soon), at the same time as his parents were pulling into the garage.<p>

"Hey stranger, where have you been all this time?" Mr. Chang asked as he got out of the car.

Mike walked over to his parents and hugged them, "I was at Tina's house. She was helping me study."

"Were you really studying?" Mrs. Chang asked suspiciously.

"Yes. You know I have that competition tomorrow and Tina wanted to help. What do you think I am a walking sack of hormones?" Mike asked. He was met with silence as his parents just stared at him and then looked at one another before turning back to Mike.

"You do don't you?" Mike asked.

Mr. Chang placed his hand on Mike's shoulder and looked him in the eye, "Don't take it personally but you are a teenager."

Mike's jaw dropped and it wasn't before long that his parents burst into laughter, "That's not funny! I thought you were serious!"

"You should've seen your face." Mrs. Chang said through her laughter. Mike shook his head and walked into the house leaving his parents to continue giggling in the garage.

* * *

><p>Today was the big day; the second event of this year's academic decathlon will soon be well on its way. Mike sat in the backseat on his dad's car mentally preparing himself and reviewing the material that he learned.<p>

"Don't worry so much, you'll do fine." Mr. Chang said looking at Mike through the rearview mirror. Mrs. Chang turned around and smiled warmly at him before patting him comfortingly on the leg.

"Thanks." Mike replied to the both of them and stared out of the window until they made it to the completion area. Getting out of the car Mike noticed that Artie had also arrived and was making his way over.

"Hey Mike ready to win this one?" Artie asked full of confidence.

"Yeah, Perry doesn't stand a chance." Mike agreed before they all started to make their way into the building. In the lobby the boys had split from their parents in order to meet up with the rest of the team.

"So, Brittany and I are dating now." Artie suddenly broke the silence.

Mike looked at him out of the corner of his eye, "Yeah, I noticed."

"I still can't believe how lucky I am to have a girl as beautiful and as popular as Brittany. I mean look at me, I'm in a wheelchair and I wear suspenders." Artie continued. Mike stayed silent. Was there a point to all of this?

Artie continued on despite Mike's silence. "There's just something so innocent about her and you know, I thought that I would have a hard time after Tina but Brittany has filled that gaping hole in my chest."

There it was; the point to this whole random one sided conversation. Mike sighed before stopping and turning to face Artie.

"Look, I know that Tina broke your heart and I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that she hadn't broken up with you when we got together. I know you got this thing with Brittany now and I'm happy for you, I really am but you shouldn't brag. It's very unbecoming." Mike stated before walking off and leaving a stunned Artie behind him.

Walking into the auditorium Mike's eyes narrowed, he had spotted his long time rival Jason Thompson. They had been rivals since the eighth grade when they were fighting for class rep, trying to get the highest test scores, trying to get the attention of the same girl, and who would get valedictorian. Mike shook his head to clear it of memories of that time and continued to make his way towards the stage. He wasn't very far from his destination when his path was blocked by none other than Jason himself.

"Michael." Jason said smugly.

"Jason." Mike replied and they stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Jason smiled.

"It must have just been my imagination but it almost seemed as if you were trying to walk past me without saying hello. But that wouldn't be possible because that would be incredibly rude of you." Jason said.

Mike sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "No, Jason why on earth would I want to do a thing like that."

"Exactly. Well, it is almost time for the event to start. I hope you're happy with being in second place."

"I wouldn't count me out just yet."

Jason laughed, "May the best man win then."

Jason stuck his hand out for Mike to shake which he did begrudgingly. As soon as he could Mike made his way to the stage and met up with the rest of his teammates that had already gathered. Taking his seat, Mike looked over to the audience and quickly spotted his parent and to his surprise Tina was there also. He sent them a quick wave and waited patiently for the completion to begin.

* * *

><p>Mike ran up to his parents and proudly presented his new gold medal after giving Jason a <em>friendly<em> handshake. Mrs. Chang quickly wrapped him up in a tight hug and kissed him on the cheek, while his father patted him on the back.

"Congratulations." Mr. Chang said.

"Thanks." Mike replied. His mother finally let go of him and Mike saw Tina a few feet away waiting for him to finish up with his parents. Mr. Chang noticed where he was looking and smiled.

"Go on and talk to her. Your mother and I will see you at the house." He said while Mrs. Chang smiled in agreement.

"Be home by dinner, I'm making your favorites." Mrs. Chang said before his parents said goodbye and started making their way to the parking lot. Mike walked over to Tina and gave her a hug.

"I knew you were going to win." Tina said in way of greeting.

Mike laughed, "Thanks."

"So I guess we have some free time to spend together?" Tina questioned.

"Yeah, but I have to be home by dinner." Mike replied.

"Good"

They smile at each other before Tina takes his hand and they make their way to her car. Mike briefly wondered what they would end up doing but in the end as long as he spends time with his girlfriend it really didn't matter. Mike was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that Tina had driven them to the park.

"What are we doing at the park?" Mike questioned.

"Well I wanted to spend some alone time with you and my parents are home." Tina answered.

"Oh." Mike shrugged and they started to wander down a random trail. It was silent as they both took in the scenery and Mike decided to take a hold of Tina's hand. It was quiet mostly, except for a few children playing at the playground but it was enjoyable. It was even more enjoyable when Tina decided to give Mike a celebratory make out session under a tree in a secluded area of the park. Tina dropped him off at his house some time later and Mike was sure that he walked into his house with the biggest smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Mike walks into school Monday morning in an extremely good mood after the amazing weekend that he had. He walked up to his locker to get everything that he need for his morning classes when Tina walked up.<p>

"Hey, what's got you smiling so much?" Tina asked smiling just as brightly.

"Well, there's this really cute girl. She nice and super smart and she helped me win my acadec competition." Mike said as he turned to face Tina.

"Is that so? That's very nice of her." Tina replied as Mike hummed in agreement before leaning down to give her a kiss.

Tina broke this kiss first, giving Mike a coy smile she turned and made her way to class. Mike sighed in contentment as he watched Tina walk toward her class when he noticed a blur of Cheerio red out of the corner of his eye. Turning around Mike saw Santana power walking her way down the hallway, pushing those that didn't move out of the way fast enough, as she made her way to class. It was then that Mike remembered that Santana was avoiding him; he had completely forgotten about her during the whirlwind of events that happened over the weekend.

* * *

><p>In the locker room, Mike was getting ready for football practice when his thoughts went back to Santana; who was still avoiding him. He really didn't understand why and briefly considered cornering her the next time they had glee to get her to talk to him. Out of the corner of his eye Mike noticed Dave Karofsky staring at him before quickly turning away. Mike narrowed his eyes in confusion but brushed it off and grabbed his shirt to put it on. Walking out on to the football field Mike noticed the cheerios were already practicing on the far end of the field. They were in the process of building a pyramid and in the distance Mike could see Santana at the bottom and it was obvious to him that she was struggling to stay up. Mike sighed before turning to pay attention to Coach Beiste as she rattled off directions.<p>

At the end of football practice Mike happily took off his helmet and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Just as he was making his way over to the building Mike heard his name being called. Mike turned and saw Puck running up to him.

"Hey, you got a visitor." Puck said as he pointed behind him to the bleachers before entering the building. Mike looked over and saw Santana sitting on the bleachers staring at her shoes. He ran over and stood quietly in front of her as he waited for Santana to speak.

Santana looked up, "Hey, can we talk?"

"You're speaking to me now?" Mike asked. He didn't mean for it to come out as it did but he was a bit upset about her ignoring him.

Santana's shoulders sagged at his cold response, "I guess I deserved that. I'm…. I'm sorry for avoiding you."

"Why?" Mike blurted out.

"Why? Are you asking me why I'm sorry?" Santana asked.

"No, why did you avoid me? What did I do wrong?" Mike clarified.

Santana sighed and looked to the ground, "You didn't do anything. It's just; I'm not used to opening up and being vulnerable like that to anyone but Brittany. I didn't know what to do. I was embarrassed for crying in your arms like a loser."

"And so you just decided to avoid me and hope everything would fix its self?" Mike snapped. When he saw Santana fold even more into herself, he felt slightly guilty for losing his temper and decided to cut her some slack.

"I didn't think I'd actually feel bad about it, about ignoring you, but I did." Santana stated quietly and Mike completely softened at the admission. Mike slowly walked up the bleachers and sat next to her.

"I'm really sorry." Santana apologized again.

"I know. I forgive you but you can't just ignore me anytime things get awkward."

"Yeah, bad habit." Santana said.

Mike turned and looked at her, "You make a habit of ignoring all your friends?"

"No, I ignore my problems." Santana clarified.

"That's really bad." Mike replied.

"I'm working on it." Santana sighed out and they sat in silence for a few moments before Mike decided to speak.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Santana replied.

"Why did Mrs. Sylvester put you at the bottom of the pyramid?" Mike asked.

Santana sighed, "Remember on the first day back, Quinn and I got into that fight?"

Mike nodded and Santana continued, "Well, Coach Sylvester has a very strict 'no plastic' rule and when Quinn told her that I got work done, I got demoted."

"Wow, that really sucks. I don't understand why she would punish you for something like that." Mike replied.

"Who knows what goes on in that woman's head. What pisses me off the most though is that Quinn completely stabbed me in the back in order to get ahead. So much for us being a family huh?"

Mike sat there silently as he absorbed the information that Santana just revealed to him. He was completely at a lost on how to respond but Santana broke the silence.

"I'm sorry but you stink."

Mike stared at her with his jaw dropped and noticed that Santana was leaning slightly away from him covering her nose. Mike lifted up his arm and smelled himself.

"What? I didn't get a chance to take a shower after practice, I came over to talk to you remember? Plus, it's not that bad, it's a manly smell." Mike said nonchalantly.

"It's disgusting. Go take a shower." Santana replied scooting away from him. Mike laughed at Santana's reaction. It was weird, Tina never seemed to mind if he didn't take a shower after practice, sometimes it seemed as if she liked the way he smelled but every girl is different it seems.

"Fine, I'll go take a shower." Mike chuckled before standing up and grabbing his helmet.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could I possibly get a ride home? Brittany left already since I waited to talk to you instead." Santana asked. Mike nodded and quickly ran off to locker room to clean up.

Riding in the car with Santana was certainly an experience. To be honest Mike didn't really know what to expect from Santana but he certainly didn't expect for her to not complain about him listening to country music; she even knew all the words to some of the songs.

"You listen to country?" Mike asked surprised.

"Yeah, I blame Brittany." Santana replied while looking out of the window.

"How so?"

"Brittany always says that I shouldn't be so judgmental about music. That all music is beautiful and I never know if I'd like something if I didn't try it first. I think it was after that that she turned the radio on to some random station that was playing country music and, well, I liked it." Santana explained.

"Wow, so did you just stop at that or find different type of music to listen to?" Mike asked.

"Nope, she got a kick out of actually finding something I liked and went on to trying to find a song for me to like from every country and every genre and every decade. Let's just say that's where my deep rooted dislike of show tunes comes from." Santana said and Mike burst into laughter.

Santana laughed along with him and gave him further directions to get to her house. Turning onto the street that would lead to her house, Mike noticed that the area was somewhat secluded and the houses had gotten bigger.

"You live in Lima Heights Adjacent?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Santana asked in return.

"No, just didn't expect it." Mike replied.

"My dad wanted to live here. I don't know why we couldn't just move to Lima Heights, it's not like we don't have enough money, but he didn't want to live in a gated community." Santana explained.

"Oh." Mike said and they continued on in silence. There was something very odd about this neighborhood; it was quiet, a little too quiet for his comfort. There weren't many people outside and those that were eerily stared at him as he drove past.

"Santana, what's up with the creepy people who stare at you?" Mike asked as he turned up the street.

"Don't know. They do that all the time, I barely notice it now." Santana stated while inspecting her nails. Mike stared at her incredulously; there was no way he could ever get used to this. This whole neighborhood gave him a bad vibe and put the hairs on the back of his neck on edge. Mike quickly pulled into her driveway and said goodbye to Santana as she exited the car and thanked him for the ride. He was not ashamed to admit to that he most definitely sped the entire way home.

* * *

><p>Mike sat down at lunch the next day and felt really good about the day. He had passed his history test and got the highest grade on his physics presentation and felt as if nothing could bring his mood down. Mike happily bit into his pepperoni pizza slice and bounced in his seat as Santana sat down in front of him.<p>

"What the hell are you so happy about?" Santana asked grumpily and violently stabbed at her food.

"I usually get really happy when I pass tests. It's a really good feeling you know?" Mike said as he continued to bounce.

"I wouldn't know, I'm a 'C' 'D' student." Santana replied nonchalantly.

Mike stared at her, "Is that something to be proud of?"

"Hey I worked damn hard for those grades and I won't let society's standards trivialize my hard work!" Santana snapped causing Mike to raise his hands in submission.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about your grades." Mike said trying to calm the angry girl.

"I'm bad at tests okay, I try really hard but I just keep mixing things up." Santana continued to grumble.

"Well maybe I could help? Two heads being better than one and all that jazz." Mike said hopefully.

Santana sat silently and contemplated his offer for a moment, "Alright. That's sounds like something I could possibly do."

"Great! You could come over today after glee if you want." Mike offered excitedly, his bouncing starting up again.

"I didn't feel like studying today." Santana groaned.

"Oh, well, you could still come over. We could watch a movie or something or just hang out and goof off." Mike tried again.

Santana smiled, "Fine, I'll come over okay. You don't have to sound so desperate."

"Hey! I'm not that desperate." Mike pouted and Santana burst into laughter. Mike smiled at the sound and took another bite of his pizza. It was then that his skin prickled and he felt like he was being watched. Looking around the lunch room, Mike noticed that Kurt and Mercedes were watching the two of them with suspicious eyes. Mike sighed inwardly, was it really that big of a deal that he was friends with Santana?

* * *

><p>Mike was making his way towards glee wondering what they would be doing today when he noticed Santana standing next to her locker looking troubled over the paper in her hands. Mike quickly walked over and when he neared her, Santana quickly turned the paper over.<p>

"What was that?" Mike asked full of concern.

"Nothing." Santana said quietly, voice thick with tears.

"Come on Santana, whatever it is has you close to tears. What's wrong?" Mike asked trying to get Santana to look at him.

Santana stayed silent and stared at the floor as she handed him the paper in his hand. Mike realized that it wasn't just a piece of paper but a small packet.

"It's my math test." Santana said somberly.

Mike immediately knew that she had failed the test based on her demeanor but nothing could prepare him for what he saw when he flipped the test over. Staring at him in bright red ink was a big fat fourteen and a sad face. Mike continued to look down the error infested test and saw many simple mistakes and blank questions that littered the pages.

"Santana." Mike started sadly.

"It's nothing okay. I should be used to this by now." Santana sniffed and grabbed the paper out of his hands only to stuff it into her locker.

"But-" Mike started again but Santana cut him off.

"We're going to be late for glee." Santana said before closing her locker and walking away. Mike just sighed and slowly followed her to the choir room. He couldn't help but go over what was revealed to him. How could someone get a score that low and still say that they had studied? There had to be something more to this because right now, something wasn't right.

* * *

><p>Glee was one big blur for Mike as he continued to rack his brain on Santana, her test scores, and how to help her raise her grades. Santana fared no better but she handled her frustrations in a completely different way; Mike was sure that she made Rachel cry, again. Needless to say, he was starting to notice a pattern; every time Santana was upset about something, she seemed to take it out on everyone around her. Before long glee was over and only Santana and Mike were left in the room.<p>

"Why Rachel?" Mike asked suddenly.

Santana looked over at him, "Why her what?"

"Why do you target Rachel more than anyone else?" Mike clarified.

Santana shrugged, "She can handle it. Plus its super fun seeing that wounded look on her face every time." Santana explained.

Mike sat there silently and contemplated what Santana told him. He looked over and studied Santana and noticed how her eyes shifted around the room and she shifted uncomfortably; Mike had a feeling she was lying. Instead of calling her on it, Mike stood up and turned to face Santana.

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Santana said as she grabbed her things and they both headed towards the parking lot.

Stepping into his house, Mike turned around and spread his arms out, "Welcome to my home."

Santana looked around at the spacious foyer in amazement, "Damn, and here I was thinking I was the only rich kid in glee. Why didn't you tell me you lived in Lima Heights?"

"No one needed to know. It's not exactly something I want to brag about." Mike shrugged.

Santana nodded in understanding and continued to look around the room. After a quick tour of the house Mike and Santana settled in the living room in front of the TV.

"So, I've got a couple of movies if you wanna watch one." Mike offered.

Santana walked over and silently browsed the various titles, "What's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?"

"Only the best movie to come out this year." Mike said before grabbing the DVD and popping it into the DVD player. They both settled comfortably on the couch waiting for the movie to begin.

"So what's this about?" Santana asked.

"This guy, Scott, meets Ramona but in order for him to date her he has to defeat her seven evil exes." Mike summarized.

"Defeat?"

"Yeah, it's kind of like what life would be like if it was a video game." Mike said as he pressed play on the remote.

"Okay, what the hell did they do to the logo music?" Santana asked as soon as the movie started.

"I told you it's like a video game, now shush." Mike said. Santana finally quieted down and watched the movie and looked at Mike oddly when he started singing along with some of the songs.

"Seriously? This from the guy who supposedly can't sing." Santana grumbled.

"Shush, Envy is about to sing." Mike said getting ready for his favorite part. Santana rolled her eyes and turned towards the screen when the music started.

"Holy sweet Jesus." Santana gasped as soon as she laid eyes on the blonde singer.

Mike looked over and saw that Santana was captivated by the woman on screen and for a moment he thought he saw lust in her eyes but brushed it off as him seeing things. He turned back to the screen and kept watching until he felt Santana shift. Looking over again he saw that she was still staring at the screen but looked slightly uncomfortable as she rubbed her legs together. Mike narrowed his eyes in confusion and turned to the screen again to watch the end of the performance. Was it possible that Santana was turned on? Naw, she doesn't swing that way; does she? Mike shook his head to get rid of his line of thought. As soon as the performance ended Santana quickly paused the movie.

"What-"

"Bathroom break." Santana said quickly as she quickly stood and all but ran to the bathroom. Mike stared after her in confusion before shrugging his shoulders and got up to get a glass of water. Walking back toward the living room, Mike saw Santana sitting on the couch, looking way more relaxed, waiting for him to return.

"So how do you like the movie so far?" Mike asked.

"It's pretty good. Don't know much about video games but it's pretty cool." Santana replied.

"You don't play video games?" Mike asked looking scandalized, even Tina played a game every now and then.

"So what?" Santana asked.

"I'm going to have to fix that." Mike muttered as he started the movie, no friend of his was going to be completely clueless about videogames. They watched the rest of the film without interruption and was soon left sitting on the couch in silence.

"What was up with you and the singing Mr. I can't sing?" Santana asked suddenly.

"I can't sing but I can harmonize a bit." Mike explained. Santana just stared at him.

"There's a difference." Mike defended.

"If you say so."

"It's like, if I'm listening to a song most often than not I can sing along and get most of the notes right. If I'm trying to sing by myself, then chances are I'll be horribly out of tune." Mike explained further.

Santana nodded, "That makes sense."

"You don't mind if I turn on some music do you?" Mike asked suddenly.

"Nope."

Mike got up and turned on the stereo system. Music blasted through the speakers and Mike quickly went to turn the volume down.

"Hey I know this song." Santana announced.

"What?"

Santana ignored him and got up and started slowly dancing to the song, "-_Mrs. Jones got a thing going on.__We both know that it's wrong_-"

Mike just stared in amazement as Santana sang the song word for word. He really didn't expect for someone his age to know songs from back in his parent's day. Maybe she really wasn't joking when she said Brittany was intent on finding all kinds of songs for Santana to like.

Mike smiled and turned to something a little more fast paced and dance appropriate before he started to bust a few moves himself. Santana laughed and muttered 'show off' before starting to dance herself. They continued on like this for a few more songs, laughing and trying to come up with the weirdest dance moves to outdo the other. Mike and Santana were currently in the middle of an intense robot dance battle, which he was totally winning, when Mrs. Chang walked through the door. Mike and Santana stopped what they were doing and turned to face her.

"Hello." Santana said politely

"Hello." Mrs. Chang greeted in return.

"Mom this is Santana. Santana this is my mom." Mike introduced.

"Oh, this is Santana. You never mentioned how pretty she is." Mrs. Chang said causing Santana to blush.

"Thank you." Santana said as she looked to the ground and scuffed her shoe on the floor in embarrassment, which caused his mom to 'awww'.

"How adorable." Mrs. Chang continued to coo and Santana smiled brightly. They were interrupted by Mr. Chang walking into the door.

"Well now, who is this?" He questioned.

"This is the mysterious Santana that we've heard so much about." Mrs. Chang explained and Mr. Chang's eyebrow's rose. Mike sighed; leave it to his parents to embarrass the both of them.

"Hello sir." Santana greeted, going so far as to shake his hand.

"Hello to you too, it's nice to meet you." Mr. Chang said smiling in return.

Mike parents quickly retreated further into the house to settle down and relax after a long day of work. Based off their reactions, it was safe to say that they liked Santana, which Mike was very happy about. What really shocked him the most was how polite Santana was to his parents; it was as if seeing a completely different person. Mike realized that Santana was more complex than he had originally thought.

"I didn't know you talked to your parents about me." Santana said.

Mike shrugged, "Well, you're my friend. I always tell my parents about my friends."

Santana didn't reply but she had the biggest smile on her face that Mike had ever seen. It made him slightly proud that he was the cause of it.

* * *

><p>After seeing Santana home, Mike sat down at the dinner table ready eat and relax after this long interesting day. The three of them ate in silence for a few moments as they enjoyed their dinner but Mike was fully aware that his parents would soon start asking questions.<p>

"Santana's nice. I see why you wanted to be friends with her." Mrs. Chang started while her husband nodded in agreement. Mike internally laughed; if only his mother knew what Santana was like at school.

"Yeah, I'm still learning things about her. There's a lot going on." Mike said.

"Oh? What's going on?" Mrs. Chang asked.

Mike sighed; of course his mother would pick up on that. Maybe it'll be okay to tell her but maybe not everything.

"Well, she's been sad lately. She's said that she's been going through some things lately but she hasn't told me much. I've just been trying to help her out." Mike said. It wasn't exactly lying and he even gave enough information for his mother to be satisfied.

"She seemed happy enough today." Mr. Chang commented.

"Sad thing is, that's the happiest I've seen her in weeks." Mike said quietly and the mood at the table was somber for a few moments.

"Well, I'm glad you're there for her then." Mrs. Chang said before they move on to happier topics.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay, the end of another chapter. So, I'm gonna take this time to talk to you a bit. Yes, I know that Tina is on the Brainiacs but that's when we see them at Regionals (if I'm remembering the episode correctly).I'll also admit that I know next to nothing about Acadec, besides that it's a school team. I just wanted to change a few things around, that and McKinley breaks the rules all the time (Brittany's last moment entrance into the team). Now, some people are probably wondering about Santana and her grades, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that (no I'm not going to tell you but kudos to you if you figure it out beforehand). Lastly, I'm must tell you guys that I did manage to find a job (Yay! me) but on the other hand that means less time for me to write. I will do the best I can to stay on schedule because I know two weeks is hella long to wait in fanfic world. As usual tell me your thoughts on the chapter; you liked, hated it, random conspiracy theories (I love those), what have you. Until next time.<strong>


	4. Furt

**Yay, glee's back again. So many thoughts on that. Anyway's here's a new chapter, sorry it's so late in the day I just got off of work. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>It's a lovely, slightly chilly Wednesday morning as Mike walks into school a bit earlier than usual. He was still in a good mood from how well his time spent with Santana went the other day. He couldn't believe how well she and his parents had hit it off; it was clearly a good sign and Mike was hopeful of the two of them becoming great friends someday. Walking down the hallway, Mike sees Santana staring blankly at her closed locker. Mike briefly wondered why she was just standing there before walking over. He also cleared his throat so as not to startle Santana.<p>

"Hey what's up?" Mike asked. Santana huffed and glared at her lock. She quickly looked at Mike from the corner of her eyes and looked as if she was about to say something but stopped and stayed quiet.

"What is it?" Mike asked carefully trying to get her to talk.

"Nothing." Santana said as she turned around to lean on her locker and stared out into the crowd with frustration clearly evident on her face.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Santana looked over to him, "I need you to keep a look out on Kurt."

"What? Why?" Mike asked confused and a little jarred by the sudden topic change.

"I heard some of the other Cheerios talking and for some reason Karofsky has upped the intensity of Kurt's bullying." Santana explained.

Santana was worried and if she worried then so was he, "So what am I supposed to do when I see something about to go down?"

Santana turned to face him and rolled her eyes, "Just glare at them or something, it's not like those idiots are going to do something to Kurt while you're around. You could always bitch them out but for some reason I think you'll be bad at that."

Mike tried to be offended by what she said but couldn't because it was true. He really didn't have the ability to reduce someone to tears on a whim; that was more Santana's territory anyways.

"So, if something looks like it's about to go down, just act like a bodyguard and stare them down." Santana explained nonchalantly.

"Alright but I don't know how effective that'll be." Mike replied.

"Stop being so negative, that's my job. Just show me what you can do." Santana huffed.

Mike sighed at the ridiculousness of this conversation and he was still curious about what was bothering her earlier but gave Santana his best glare anyways. Santana stared at him blankly for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

"What in the world was that?" Santana managed to choke out between bouts of laughter.

Mike pouted, "I was glaring."

"You call that a glare? You looked like a teddy bear." Santana continued to giggle. Mike crossed his arms and waited for Santana to stop laughing.

"Look, it helps to get angry. Anger always helps when you want to glare at someone properly." Santana explained.

Mike's face scrunched up in confusion; anger? Santana glared at everyone all the time; did that mean that she was angry all the time? If so, why?

"But you glare at everyone all the time." Mike said slowly trying to compile his thoughts.

"Yeah so?" Santana asked in confusion.

Mike sighed and decided to ask outright, "Why are you so angry all the time?"

Santana's eyes widened in surprise, "How-?"

Mike quickly filled with concern as Santana looked away from him as she blinked back tears. She crossed her arms, quietly hugging herself, and Mike felt the overwhelming urge to comfort her. Before he could act Santana got her emotions in check and looked back at him.

"Look, this isn't about me okay? Now concentrate on something that makes you angry. I don't often teach other's how to perform my infamous glare so you better consider yourself lucky." Santana said, her walls thrown back up with a quickness that surprised him. Mike knew that she didn't want to talk about what was bothering her so he let the topic drop, for now. Concentrating, Mike tried to find something that would make him angry but couldn't think of a single thing; it took a lot to make him angry.

"Sorry Santana but I got nothing" Mike said sadly.

Santana sighed and thought for a moment, "What if someone was trying to hurt Tina?"

Mike's heart clenched at the very thought, he couldn't stop his brain from coming up with the worst possible scenarios, and was completely surprised by the anger that suddenly flared up. He could feel his face contorting and it was a completely foreign feeling. Mike was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he was glaring a Santana until she stepped away from him. Mike caught the look of fear that briefly crossed her face and that was enough to quickly calm him down; he never wanted Santana to look at him like that again.

"See, I knew you had it in you." Santana smiled after she got her bearings.

"Thanks, I guess. You know, it's sweet how you care about Kurt and is willing to do all of this for him." Mike said.

"I don't. In fact 98% of the time I think he's a whiny little bitch but we're on the same team and I takes care of my own." Santana replied.

Mike shook his head in amusement, "I'll just take that as your version of caring."

Santana chuckled, "Look, class is about to start soon. Make sure you keep an eye on Kurt okay. I can't be everywhere at once and I trust you to be my extra pair of eyes. I mean I'm amazing but I'm not god."

"Yeah, I will." Mike said. Santana nodded, gave her locker another tiny glare, before walking off down the hall.

Mike looked on after her as he silently chuckled to himself. He turned and was about to walk down the hall when he almost walked into Brittany.

"Hey Britt, I didn't see you." Mike said.

"That's okay. Was that Santana walking down the hall?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah."

"She wasn't carrying any books, did she forget again?" Brittany asked.

"Forget? It didn't' seem like she forgot her books." Mike replied full of confusion.

Brittany shook her head, "Not her books, her locker combination. She forgets sometimes. Didn't she tell you?"

Mike shook his head in the negative and Brittany walked around him over to Santana's locker. She quickly entered the combination and opened the locker, which was full of books. Brittany sighed and turned to him sadly.

"She forgot again."

"Does this happen a lot?" Mike asked. He wondered why Santana didn't say anything but then again it's not like he knew her combination and could help.

"Yeah, most of the time she can remember after a few moments but sometimes she can't. It's really embarrassing for her so a lot of the time she doesn't ask for help." Brittany explained.

"Well, she's going to need her books so I'll help you take them to her." Mike offered after realizing that Brittany was holding her own books. Brittany smiled and grabbed the books that Santana would need and handed them over to him.

"Thanks Mike. Oh! Before I forget her combo is 0-32-30 just in case she needs help." Brittany said and Mike was sure to remember just in case this happened again. Brittany closed Santana's locker just as the warning bell rang and they headed to Santana's first class of the day to drop off her books.

They walked together silently as they made their way down the hall. Mike could tell that Brittany had something on her mind and waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts.

"Hey Mike can I ask you something?" Brittany asked suddenly.

"Sure." Mike responded.

"Does sex between two girls really not count as real sex?" she asked.

Mike's eyes widened and he stared a Brittany for a moment, "W-why do you ask?"

"Well, I overheard some guys talking and another said that sex between girls doesn't count unless there's a guy involved. Is that true?" Brittany clarified.

"No, sex is sex; doesn't matter if it's between two boys or two girls. Also despite popular belief it most definitely counts a cheating if you sleep with someone else while in a relationship, no matter their gender." Mike explained.

Brittany looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered the information that was given to her, "Okay thanks Mike."

"No problem." Mike said as they reached Santana's classroom.

* * *

><p>Mike was making his way back to Spanish from the bathroom when he came across Kurt going through his locker. Not far down the hall, Mike sees a group of his football teammates heading towards Kurt with slushies in their hands. Mike quickly walks over to Kurt who looks over to him in confusion.<p>

"Mike, what are you doing here?" Kurt asked.

Mike didn't have time to answer because the group had finally reached them. Kurt, sensing that they were no longer alone, turned to face them.

"'Sup Lady face." Their leader said. Mike immediately recognized the boy as Brian Miller.

"Keep moving Brian." Mike stated darkly, he even had time to pull out his new and improved glare, which caught everyone by surprise.

Brian shifted nervously but continued his front, "Or what Chang?"

Mike continued to glare at the boys as he brought himself to his full height and walked menacingly over to them while subtly blocking Kurt.

"You really want to risk finding out?" Mike said hoping that Brian wouldn't call his bluff. The fact of the matter is; he is a horrible fighter. The two had a standoff and stared at each other for a few moments before Brian backed off and the group continued down the hall.

"Well that certainly was unexpected." Kurt said suddenly. Mike quickly turned to him, glare still in full effect.

"Woah, down tiger." Kurt said and Mike smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, still not used to the whole glaring thing. Santana only taught me this morning." Mike explained.

"Santana huh? I'm surprised she stopped focusing on herself long enough to even notice anyone else but then again you guys have been very close lately."

"Kurt, don't be like that." Mike said, so much for a 'thank you'.

"Right, well anyways, thank you for stopping those brutes from ruining my outfit." Kurt said. Mike nodded his head before continuing on to class.

* * *

><p>Mike was walking Tina to class before heading to lunch. They hadn't seen much of each other today and Mike was slightly curious as to where she had disappeared off to.<p>

"So, some of the other girls and I were talking today." Tina started.

"Go on." Mike said.

"Well, it's Kurt and Karofsky. The bullying has gotten worse and it's really starting to affect Kurt negatively." Tina continued and Mike nodded his head. Most of this he already knew from Santana and had seen for himself.

"So I was wondering if you could confront Karofsky."

"Wait, by myself?" Mike asked incredulously.

"No, Quinn, Brittany, and Rachel are asking the others too. We felt that there's strength in numbers and that you guys could get him to back off." Tina explained. Mike wondered if this was the best way to go about things, part of him felt like this could possibly make things worse for Kurt.

"Tina, is this the best thing? Fighting violence with violence?" Mike asked.

"I'm not asking you to fight him, just give him a warning. Let him know that we're not playing around." Tina pleaded.

Mike sighed knowing that Tina had a point, "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

Tina smiled and gave him a hug and kiss before walking into her art class and leaving Mike alone in the hall. He quickly made his way over to the cafeteria, got his food, and sat down at his regular table. Santana was already seated and stabbed violently at her food.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"Fuck them." Santana grumbled angrily as she continued to stab her spork into the Styrofoam plate.

"Who? What happened?" Mike continued to ask but Santana continued to ignore him.

"Santana!" Mike said forcefully as he grabbed her hand in order to get her attention.

Santana stopped and looked over to Mike. He could see that she was fighting off tears and that she was pissed off.

"Talk to me." Mike pleaded. Santana put down her spork and Mike removed his hand from hers.

"They had a glee girls meeting about Kurt and didn't even tell me."

"Why wouldn't they invite you?" Mike asked, glad that Santana had calmed down a bit and started to talk to him.

"Because they're bitches! They act like they're high and mighty because they have boyfriends. So what if I don't have a boyfriend, so what if Puck doesn't count, that shouldn't matter. Maybe I don't want a stupid fucking boyfriend. I wanted to help out Kurt too. What about Mercedes? They didn't tell her either and she's Kurt's best friend. Then to round off my already shitty day, Brittany didn't even tell me! That was like the biggest fucking slap to the face!" Santana ranted before picking back up her spork and continuing to stab at her plate.

Mike just stared at her in shock and tried to make sense of all the information that he had just been given. From what he gathered; the girls had a meeting about Kurt, he knew this from Tina. What did shock him was that Santana and Mercedes were not invited. That was a bit cold all things considered and Mike could only imagine how upset Mercedes would be if she ever found out. One thing that did sadden him was the thing about Brittany not telling Santana about the meeting. They shared everything, or at least they used to, and now it was all too clear that their friendship was even worse off than he originally thought and it was tearing Santana up on the inside.

"Look, that was wrong of them I admit." Mike said.

Santana looked up from the destroyed mess that used to be her plate, "And they wonder why I'm such a bitch to them."

"It's a vicious cycle." Mike commented.

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Santana asked.

"Sure. So, my parents totally like you. Just thought I should let you know." Mike said changing the topic.

"Well I am really good with parents." Santana boasted.

"Yeah, well I still intend on introducing you to the world of videogames."

"I still don't get what the big deal is." Santana replied.

"It's a crime against nature." Mike said simply as he started to eat his spaghetti.

Santana laughed and they finished lunch on a much lighter note. The bell rang and Santana got up and headed to her next class. Mike hung back and waited; he wanted to talk to Brittany about a few things. Walking over to her table, Mike was met with stares from all the occupants.

"Hey Brittany, can we talk?" Mike asked.

"Sure." She replied looking at him expectantly.

"Alone." Mike clarified. Artie looked at him suspiciously before giving Brittany a kiss and wheeling himself away from the table. Kurt and Mercedes also gave him odd looks before leaving the table.

"What's up?" Brittany asked cheerily.

"I wanted to talk to you about Santana" Mike started.

"She looked very upset during lunch. Was it because I told her that I wasn't going to sleep with her anymore because I'm in a relationship now?" Brittany replied.

Mike stared at her, he was pretty sure that his brain came to a complete stop at this new information; Brittany and Santana slept together?

"What?" Was the only response his fried brain was able to produce.

"Yeah, she asked me today. She was like 'Aren't you done with this thing with the cripple? I miss your lady lovin'. But I told her that we couldn't and that I didn't want to cheat on Artie. She got really upset and stormed off." Brittany continued.

Mike was really at a lost on what to say. Santana said nothing about her conversation with Brittany and considering how angry she was sexual frustration could have played a small part. How did they end up talking about this?

"Umm… Brit….." Mike started unsure how to continue.

"Don't get me wrong, I love her sweet lady loving but I just can't….no matter how much I want to." Brittany said mumbling the last part of her sentence. Mike was sure that the last part wasn't meant to be heard but he did hear it. He shook his head to get rid of the images and decided to quickly put this conversation back on track.

"Britt, Santana was really upset that you guys didn't invite her to the glee girls meeting." Mike explained and the dazed smile on Brittany's face quickly disappeared.

"Rachel said it was for girls with boyfriends only and for us to keep it a secret." Brittany explained.

"I know but you really hurt her. She was trying really hard not to cry. I think she hates it that you guys are friends like you used to be." Mike said sadly.

Brittany looked down sadly, "I miss her too. I don't like that we don't talk but she still won't talk to me."

"I don't think today helped any. Maybe I could try to get her to talk to you. It hurts seeing you guys not be friends." Mike offered.

Brittany managed to smile once again, "I'd really like that Mike. Could you tell her that I'm sorry I kept it a secret? She doesn't ride home with me anymore."

"Sure." Mike replied and Brittany got up and gave him a hug. They both headed their separate ways and Mike couldn't help but shake his head; the things you learn when talking to Brittany.

* * *

><p>Mike walked into the choir room and the first thing he noticed was Kurt bouncing excitedly in his seat. He briefly wondered what Kurt was so excited about but didn't give it much thought as Tina caught his attention. It didn't take long for everyone to file into the room and Mr. Shue to the meeting.<p>

"Hey guys, how was your day today?" Mr. Shue asked and met with a murmur of 'okay'. Kurt raised his hand excitedly and waited for Mr. Shue to call on him.

"Yes Kurt?"

"Mr. Shue I have exciting news that I would like to share." Kurt said as he bounced up to front of the room.

"Finn would you like to join me?" Kurt asked.

"Uhh.. No that's okay. You tell them Kurt." Finn replied looking decidedly less excited than Kurt.

"Kurt what's going on? You've been bouncing around all day and I need my gossip now." Mercedes stated.

"Well, as of this morning Finn's mom and my dad are officially engaged." Kurt said and was met with excitement as everyone clapped and cheered.

"That's great." Mr. Shue announced patting Kurt on the back.

"But wait, that's not all. As wedding planner, I have volunteered New Directions as the entertainment for the big day." Kurt continued. He was met with even more excitement as everyone started to talk about what they would sing.

Mike couldn't help but be happy for Kurt and Finn; it's not every day that you get a sibling. He had always wanted a little brother or sister but as fate would have it, he was an only child. Mike was interrupted from his thoughts as Kurt pulled out his big wedding book and started to go over the details with everyone.

* * *

><p>The next day was nothing but a blur to Mike. He couldn't stop thinking about his impending confrontation with Karofsky. Mike knew that he would have back up but it still worried him; he was a dancer not a fighter. For a moment Mike couldn't believe that Tina asked him to do this and that he was crazy enough to agree but then he remembered Kurt and how depressed he has looked lately. He understood now how much this whole situation was bearing down on Kurt; not to mention the stress of planning his parents wedding.<p>

Standing at his locker in the locker room before practice, Mike took deep calming breaths to try and calm himself. He could hear Karofsky laughing in the background with his friends and he was angry. Why should he get to be happy when he's making Kurt's life miserable? Karofsky shouldn't be able to torture someone on a daily basis and act like nothing was wrong. Mike pumped himself up and turned to Artie. They both nodded their heads in silent agreement; it was time to shut this down.

Out of the corner of his eye Mike saw Finn sneak out of the locker room but didn't stop to think about it as he slammed Karofsky's locker closed; effectively ending his laughter.

"Stop picking on Kurt!" Artie stated as he rolled up behind Mike

Dave turned to them while fiddling with his belt, "You mind I'm changing."

"We're serious! This is a warning." Mike replied glaring for all he was worth.

"Oh yeah?" Dave asked completely bemused by the two in front of him. Mike could see Puck in the background looking ready to pounce at any moment. It was dead silent as everyone look on.

"From now on you're going to leave him alone." Artie said. Mike had to admit he was proud of the guy; here he was standing up to a guy three times his size, in a wheelchair no less.

"Look if he wants to be a homo that's up to him, just don't rub it in my face." Dave said smugly.

"We're not asking you." Artie replied.

"Yeah, we're done talking about this. Just back off alright." Mike said stepping forward. It was the wrong move because it only seemed to anger Dave and he stepped forward arms raised.

"No you back off!" Dave yelled as he pushed Mike away from him. Mike flew backwards into Artie and before he knew it the both of them were falling over. He immediately rolled over afraid of hurting Artie more than he could have possibly already have.

"Artie you okay?" Mike asked as Artie reached blindly for his glasses. Mike could hear a fight breaking out behind him and looked over to see Sam slamming Dave into a locker; served him right. Let him get a taste of his own medicine.

Puck reached over and helped him up, and then both boys helped Artie get his wheelchair upright. By that time Coach Bieste came storming in.

"What the hell is going on here?" She yelled breaking up the fight and separating the boys.

"Chang, Puckerman! Take Evans to the nurse to get his eye looked at."

Mike and Puck quickly grabbed Sam and ushered him to the door as Artie followed, all the while giving Karofsky evil looks. Exiting the locker room, the boys were surprised to be met by Quinn, Santana, and Brittany.

"What happened?" Quinn asked noticing how Sam's eye was beginning to swell and become discolored.

"Fight with Karofsky." Sam muttered as Quinn fussed over him. Brittany ran over to Artie to make sure he was okay and straighten his crooked glasses.

"Well, Mr. Shue called for an extra glee meeting today. He said we needed to practice for the wedding." Santana informed them. Mike nodded and started to head for the choir room. Santana followed him as the other went in the opposite direction to the nurse's office. It was silent as the two slowly made their way.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked quietly.

"Yeah, he only pushed me." Mike replied.

"That's all it took to take you out? 'Cuz it looks like Sam to the brunt of fight." Santana said.

"Well the fight didn't start until he pushed me but I fell over Artie because he was behind me. I did land pretty hard on my shoulder though." Mike explained and Santana looked over in concern.

"Which shoulder?" She asked.

"My right one, but I'm pretty sure it's okay." Mike replied trying to reassure her. Santana ignored him and grabbed his shoulder putting a bit of pressure on it causing him wince and hiss in pain.

"Okay my ass. You're hurt." Santana muttered.

"Maybe I should go see the nurse." Mike said.

"No need really. I got an ice pack in my locker." Santana said as she led Mike to her locker, opening it to reveal a small first aid kit.

"Why do you have a first aid kit in your locker?" Mike asked.

"I'm a cheerio and my coach is Sue Sylvester. Do I need to explain further?" Santana replied as she dug out an ice pack.

"I guess not."

"Look, all you need to do is ice it for about twenty minutes every hour and stretch your shoulder so it won't become stiff." Santana explained as she handed over the ice pack. Mike activated it and placed it on his shoulder. He almost sighed in relief as the coolness seeped through his shirt and onto his injured shoulder.

"Thanks."

Santana nodded and closed her locker. They both made their way to the choir room as Mike retold the events that went on in the locker room. In glee the story was retold again and Santana called Finn out on not being there to help. Mike was pretty sure it was about to get ugly but Mr. Shue stepped in and got everyone to focus on practice for the wedding.

* * *

><p>Today is the big day and Mike is excited. There's something about weddings that makes him really happy. Maybe it's seeing a loving couple so happy and ready to take their relationship to the next level with the ultimate show love and respect for one another. Mike could hardly wait for when he finds that special someone who he would want to spend the rest of his life together with. He finds himself looking over at Tina as she excitedly chats with Mercedes and Kurt.<p>

"You look suitably lovestruck." Mike turned around to see Santana smiling at him.

"Wow." Was Mike's only reply as he took in the sight of Santana in her red dress; he has to admit, red is her color.

"Thank you." Santana said as her smile grew.

"So what were you saying about me being lovestruck?" Mike asked.

"Don't think I didn't notice the way you were looking at Tina?" Santana said with a smirk.

'_The same way you were looking at Brittany?'_ was what he wanted to reply with but Mike wasn't sure how she would take that. He's noticed plenty of time how Santana would glance over to Brittany before sadly looking away.

"I was just thinking about weddings and stuff." Mike said instead.

"You're planning out your wedding with Tina already? Isn't that a little premature?" Santana asked.

"I wasn't planning out my wedding. I was just thinking about how happy weddings are in general." Mike replied.

"Oh, if you say so. I don't find weddings to be happy at all."

"Why?"

"Why would I want to be reminded of what I can't have?" Santana muttered under her breath.

"What?" Mike asked, he heard what she said but wanted to make sure he heard correctly.

"Nothing." Santana said quickly. She briefly glanced at Brittany again before walking off, stating that she had to go freshen up. Mike stared after her confused. Why wouldn't she be able to have a wedding? He feels as if he's missing something so glaringly obvious but he can't get it. He could feel the answer floating around in his brain but it's as if he has some sort of block that's keeping him from it.

"You look confused about something. What's wrong?" Kurt asked from behind him.

"Not confused, just trying to reach an answer that's slightly out of my reach." Mike replied.

"I hate it when that happens." Kurt sympathized and Mike nodded in agreement.

"So, are you excited about your parents wedding? I must admit I'm amazed at what you managed to pull off." Mike praised and Kurt smiled at him brightly.

"Yes, I'm happy people are finally seeing some of the brilliance of my talents. But to tell you the truth, it's a bit bittersweet." Kurt said as his smile slightly dimmed.

"How so?"

"I look around and see how magical this whole day is for my parents and I imagine myself with a boyfriend in the future and a day just like this." Kurt stared, his eyes taking on a dreamy quality.

"But then reality sets in like a bitch slap from a cold hearted woman and I remember; same sex marriage is illegal in Ohio." Kurt finishes and it suddenly hits Mike.

Santana wants to be married but she can't, the state won't allow it; most of the United States won't allow it. That also brought to mind the question; was Santana gay? If she was, it would explain a lot of things that he's noticed about her. If she was, it saddened Mike that Santana felt the need to hide from everyone. That the world was so intolerant that Santana had to pretend to be someone she's not in order to fit in, no matter how unhappy it made her. Mike's shoulders sagged and he felt bad for the both of them.

"Now I've made you upset." Kurt said bringing Mike out of his thoughts.

"It is sad that the world just can't let people marry who they want." Mike replied.

"Yeah, but the world is slowly changing. I'll just move to another state and have my fairytale wedding." Kurt said as his smile returned. Mike nodded and returned Kurt's smile.

"Now hurry up, we're going to be starting soon." Kurt said after a moment while shooing Mike to get into position.

While on his way he passed and upset Santana, "What's wrong?"

"Finn's an ass. He refuses to tell Rachel that we slept together and that he's not a virgin anymore all because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings." Santana explained.

"Finn cheated on her?" Mike asked.

"No. This was last year when she was dating Jessie, but now Finn has her thinking that they're going to lose their virginities to each other. It's sickening." Santana slightly ranted.

"You didn't tell her did you?" Mike asked. He could only imagine how devastated Rachel would be if she found out from anyone but Finn and he didn't want to ruin the wedding.

"No, but I told him to do it or I would." Santana replied. Mike sighed and slightly smiled at her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's sweet how you care so much." Mike replied.

"I don't. I don't even like the dwarf. I just don't like people actively lying about their sexual history. It's one thing if she didn't ask, Finn's under no obligation to tell her but if Rachel comes clean about her sexual history and then asks him point blank to his face about it and he still lies, then it's a problem."

Mike was starting to think this little pet peeve of her was starting to run a bit deeper than it first seems; maybe Santana had a bad first time and didn't want anyone else to experience the same thing.

"I'll just take that as your version of caring." Mike said with a smirk. Santana opened her mouth to reply when they were both interrupted.

"There you are Santana. You have to go with the other girls, we're about to start the ceremony." Kurt said slightly out of breath. Mike shared a look with Santana before she was whisked away by Kurt.

* * *

><p>Their performance and the wedding ceremony went off without a hitch. Mike looked around the reception hall and hungrily eyed the food table as his stomach growled. Mr. Shue was just setting up to begin his song for the evening as Mike made it to his destination.<p>

"It amazes me how much you can eat sometimes." Tina said from behind him as she watched him pile food on his plate.

Mike looked over in surprise, "Well a guy's gotta eat. Plus I have to have enough energy to take you out on the dance floor."

"Is this your way of asking me to dance?" Tina asked.

"Maybe." Mike replied.

"I'll certainly give you points for originality. But don't take too long to finish eating or I'll end up dancing with someone else." Tina said as she kissed him on the cheek and walked back over to their table. Mike followed and ate his food as fast as he could.

Mike spent most of his time out on the dance floor with Tina. On occasion he would dance with Santana and Brittany; he even danced with Mercedes and Quinn when he saw Tina scowling from afar. All in all it was a very eventful day.

* * *

><p>Monday was full of gossip. At first Mike thought people were still talking about Karofsky's expulsion; something that Mike personally was glad about. Not only did Kurt seem happier, the other jocks backed off and cut down on the amount of slushie facials in fear of Principal Sylvester's wrath. Listening in on other's conversations, however, quickly proved him wrong. Apparently Karofsky is coming back and Ms. Sylvester is stepping down as principal. Mike could only imagine how Kurt must be feeling right now.<p>

Walking into the choir room, Mike was met with a buzz of sound as everyone was concerned with the news of recent events. Mike sat down next to Tina, who was talking with Mercedes and Quinn. Mike turned to Santana, who sat below him spread out over two chairs.

"Hey, am I giving you a ride home today?" Mike asked cautiously; completely aware that Tina could overhear him if he's not careful. He doesn't want another fight on his hands.

"Yeah. We have to set up a time for you to actually tutor me cuz my mom's getting on my last fucking nerve about my grades." Santana replied.

"Okay. I'm free most of the week anyways. Just give me a call or something." Mike said but paused when Santana looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"I kind of need your number to call you." Santana explained. Mike chuckled at his forgetfulness and they quickly exchanged phone numbers. Mike was about to further the conversation when Kurt and Mr. Shue walked in.

"Mr. Shue, I want to say a few things before you start." Kurt said and Mr. Shue nodded for him to continue.

Kurt turned to group and hesitated before speaking, "First I want to thank everyone for what you did at my dad's wedding, especially you Finn. It's nice to know that I have great friends here and a true brother; which is why it's so hard for me to leave."

"What do you mean leave?" Quinn asked.

"I'm transferring to Dalton Academy, immediately. My parents are using the money they saved up for their honeymoon for my tuition." Kurt answered. He was met with complete silence as everyone stared in shock. Mike couldn't believe what was happening. Kurt was leaving?

"Kurt you can't leave." Tina broke the silence and Mike could tell how much she was hurting. This seemed to snap everyone out of their shock.

"What the hell dude? How about you talk to me about this first." Finn said as he walked over to Kurt.

"I'm sorry Finn but there's nothing to talk about. Karofsky's coming back tomorrow so that means I won't be here." Kurt said and Mike could tell that Kurt was trying really hard to stay strong.

"We can protect you." Sam offered.

"Seriously we could perform a perimeter around you like the secret service." Puck chimed in.

"Yeah." Finn said agreeing to the other boy's idea. As much as Mike wanted to he couldn't agree with them. The plan was highly improbably just because they wouldn't be able to be with Kurt every second of the day.

"The only thing that could really protect me is what they have at Dalton; a zero tolerance no bullying policy. It's enforced." Kurt said turning slightly to look at Mr. Shue.

"Umm… does this mean you're going to be competing against us at sectionals?" Rachel asked. Mike quietly shook his head at her question. How could she ask something like that at a moment like this? Sometimes Mike wondered about her and where her priorities lie.

Mercedes got up and walked over to her best friend, "Kurt…."

"Sorry. I have to go." Kurt said quietly as his eyes finally started to water and he slowly backed out of the room.

The room was silent as nobody wanted to move, as if doing so would make everything that happened real. Mike, himself, even hoped that this was some horrible joke and that Kurt would walk back into the room. When it didn't happen, his shoulders slumped and he sadly looked around the room. Mercedes and Tina were crying and Mike wrapped his arms around his girlfriend in an attempt to comfort her. Mike swallowed; he refused to let Kurt leave them on such a sad note.

"It can't end like this." He said quietly causing everyone to turn to him.

"What?" Finn asked.

"We should be sending him off with happy tears and stuff. This just feels wrong." Mike replied.

"Yeah." Santana started, her voice thick with tears; the only thing that betrayed how upset she was about Kurt's departure. Mike looked over at her and smiled; grateful for the backup.

"I'm thinking party?" Mike asked her.

"Surprise party." Santana replied. This seemed to perk everyone's attention as Rachel jumped up. Mike could see her mind whirling with ideas.

"This is perfect. We'll send Kurt off to his new school New Directions style." She said excitedly. This seemed to be the final push that everyone needed to get into the idea and start planning.

* * *

><p>Mike climbed down the ladder as he finished putting up the last of the decorations. He looked around to see everyone rushing and working together to put together this last minute going away party for Kurt. It amazed him how quickly they put together this party but it wouldn't have been possible without the help of the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Hummel. Mr. Hummel had take Kurt shopping, under the guise of getting school uniforms for Dalton, which had given them plenty of time to prepare; Mrs. Hummel even had time to bake a small cake and make some food to eat alone with the snacks that everyone else bought.<p>

"Guys, they're on their way. Burt called, their just down the street." Mrs. Hummel said as she walked into the room.

"Alright places everyone places." Rachel called out and everyone ran to find a hiding spot.

Mike dove behind the couch while Santana hid behind the chair next to him. Once everyone was hidden the lights went out and the entire room went pitch black. Next to him Mike heard a muffled whimper and he remembered; Santana wasn't too fond of the darkness. He blindly reached over and grabbed her hand and gentlely squeezed it. Santana squeezed back in return and he could feel her body starting to relax. They sat in silence for about a minute before they heard a car pull into the driveway and everyone could hear Kurt's muffled voice from outside. The door opened and Mike tensed ready to jump up as soon as the lights came back on; Santana's death grip on his hand was starting to hurt.

"Dad why is it so dark in here?" Kurt asked.

The lights immediately switched on and everyone jumped from their hiding spots, "Surprise!"

Kurt dropped his bags in surprise and held his hand to his heart as he took in everything around him. Mike felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and as if he was in serious danger. Mike looked around and noticed Tina staring at him, or rather his hands. Looking down Mike noticed that he was still holding Santana's hand and quickly let go. She looked over to him in confusion and Mike quickly shifted his eyes over to Tina. Santana caught onto what he was trying to say and quickly moved away.

"Kurt we just wanted to show our support at your decision and send you off with a bang." Mercedes said as she gave Kurt a hug.

"Thank you everyone." Kurt said and the party began.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh glee how I love thee but why do you have soo many fucking plot holes! Sorry just my little rant about the next chapter, which I need to find time to write. Until next time.<strong>


	5. Special Education

**Hey all, I know it's a bit late (only by a day but I'm unnecessarily hard on myself)and to save you excuses, life and writer's block got in the way. Anyways, how about that episode of Glee? That was amazing, Mike's parent's are so close to how I wrote them. Okay, mine are a bit less hardcore than their canon counterparts but whatever. Also, I know next to nothing about football so if I messed something up I'm sorry.**

* * *

><p>Making his way into school, Mike wraps his jacket tighter around his already shivering body and is easily reminded why he should have worn his heavier coat. Next to him Santana gravitates a little closer to him for extra body heat. Mike felt really bad about the fact that she had to wear her Cheerios outfit even in this type of weather; it was too freaking cold for a skirt.<p>

"Remind me again why you had to park so far away from the doors." Santana grumbled next to him.

"Because I had to pick you up this morning. Which reminds me, why did I have to pick you up this morning?" Mike asked.

"My mom was too busy, my dad wasn't home…as usual, and Brittany had already left with Artie." Santana said angrily as they finally entered into the school to be graced with warmth. She shivered and rubbed her hands together as they continued to make their way down the hall.

The hallway was mostly empty given that the warning bell had rung three minutes ago and most people have already made it to their classes. Mike saw Tina walking down the hall opposite of them and went to wave but sighed when she pointedly ignored him and continued on her way.

"Trouble in paradise?" Santana asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Tina is still mad at me." Mike said sadly.

"Still? It's been two days." Santana replied.

"I couldn't find a plausible way to explain why we were holding hands besides telling her the truth." Mike explained.

"You didn't tell her did you?" Santana asked slightly afraid.

"No, I figured you didn't want people knowing you're afraid of the dark." Mike said quietly and watched as Santana relaxed.

"Thanks." She said and Mike nodded. They separated shortly after and Mike was left trying to figure out how to get back on Tina's good side.

* * *

><p>Mike was sitting in Spanish gazing off into nothingness as Mr. Shue droned on about who knows what. He had spent most of the morning trying to get Tina to stop ignoring him and find out a way to get on her good side again. Maybe he should ask Santana for her opinion on what to do? Mike sighed and continued to daze off until the end of class.<p>

Mike spent most of the passing period looking for Santana. Just when he was about to give up and just head to the cafeteria and wait for her there, Mike saw Santana quickly walk out of the choir room. Mike caught up with her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I was looking for you. I need your help on figuring out a way to fix things with Tina." Mike said.

Santana, sighed, "It's already done."

"Wait what?" Mike asked confused.

"I told her the truth. You don't have to worry about anything anymore." Santana said quietly before walking off.

Mike couldn't believe his ears; did Santana really tell one of her biggest secrets just so his girlfriend wouldn't be mad at him anymore? Mike shook his head and smiled, he was beginning to see the sweet girl under her normal hard exterior that Brittany always talked about. It wasn't long before Mike heard angry footsteps heading towards him from behind. Mike turns around and sees Tina storming up to him.

"Do you two take me for some sort of fool?" Tina asked angrily.

"What?" Mike responded.

"Honestly it's a bit insulting to my intelligence. Do you two really expect me to believe that Santana is afraid of the da-" Tina ranted but was cut off by Mike quickly placing his hand over her mouth.

"Tina shhhh." Mike said as he looked around the hall. Thankfully no one was paying them any attention. Mike quickly grabbed Tina by the arm and led her to the empty choir room and closed the door.

"I didn't expect Santana to tell you something like that." Mike said.

"But she did. You could've at least come up with something a little more believable." Tina huffed.

Mike stared at her, "Tina she's telling you the truth. Santana is afraid of the dark."

Tina stopped and stared at Mike, "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yes." Mike replied seriously. They both sat in silence for a moment before Tina burst into laughter.

"Oh this is golden. Of all the things to be afraid of, Santana is afraid of the dark." Tina managed to get out in between fits of laughter.

"It's not funny." Mike started. He had a feeling he was going to regret Tina knowing.

"Just wait until Kurt and Mercedes hear about this." Tina continued as if she hadn't heard Mike at all. Mike could feel the fear for Santana bubble up. This was something that Santana most definitely did not want going around; which is exactly what would happen if Tina told the school's two biggest gossips. He couldn't believe that Tina didn't realize that Santana trusted her with something personal and that that was a huge thing. How could Tina just easily plan to tell her secret and throw away Santana's trust like that? Now Mike was angry.

"Tina!" Mike half yelled. Tina immediately stopped laughing and stared at Mike with wide eyes. He didn't blame her really; it was the first time he had ever raised his voice to someone let alone her.

"Don't tell anyone. Santana only told you because she didn't want you to be angry at me anymore. I can't believe that you would so cold heartedly plan to throw away her trust like that and tell everyone her personal business." Mike stated seriously before he left a shocked Tina in the room alone.

* * *

><p>Mike was driving Santana to her house for their tutoring session in a comfortable silence. Mike wondered what to say to get the conversation rolling as he glanced at Santana who was staring out the window.<p>

"Thanks for helping smooth things over with Tina. I really appreciate it." Mike said breaking the silence.

"It's no problem. I just don't want to be the reason for any problems in your relationship." Santana replied. Mike nodded and stayed silent. He couldn't tell her that she's the cause of most of his and Tina's arguments recently. He doesn't want to make her feel guilty about being his friend. Turning into Santana's driveway Mike paused; there was a car in the driveway. In all the times that he's driven Santana home, Mike has never seen a car in the driveway.

"Shit!" Santana said angrily.

"What? What's wrong?" Mike says slightly panicking.

"My mom is home." Santana sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, is that bad?"

"That depends." Santana said wearily before grabbing her things and exiting the car. Mike quickly turned off the car and followed her inside.

"Santana is that you?" Mrs. Lopez asked from somewhere deeper in the house as soon as Santana closed the door.

"Yeah, I brought company over." Santana replied and Mike silently took in Santana's house.

"Oh my who is this?" Mrs. Lopez asked. Mike looks up to see Mrs. Lopez coming towards them from the back of the house via a short hallway next to the stairs.

"Mom, this is Mike. Mike this is my mom." Santana introduced quickly. Mrs. Lopez looked him up and down with a critical eye and Mike had to resist the urge to hide behind Santana.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Mike greeted nervously.

Mrs. Lopez nodded as she continued to look him over. She turned to Santana and sighed, "I have to say you didn't do too bad this time. At least he's better than that delinquent you dated last year."

"Umm…" Mike started.

"He's not my boyfriend." Santana growled out at the same time.

Mrs. Lopez raised an eyebrow, "You still don't have a boyfriend yet? You do realize that all the time you spend with that blonde is causing the neighbors to talk."

Santana nervously shuffled as her mother stared at her. Mike couldn't blame her; the woman was completely intimidating. The silence was tense and filled with an underlying hostility that made Mike uncomfortable. He also felt as if he was witnessing something completely personal and decided to clear his throat and remind them of his presence.

"Sorry, what brings you to visit today?" Mrs. Lopez asked as if the previous conversation never happened.

"I'm her to tutor Santana." Mike said simply. He was thrown off guard as Mrs. Lopez stared at him blankly before bursting into laughter.

"Oh my, that was a good one; Santana why are you wasting this poor boy's time?" Mrs. Lopez asked once she regained control of herself.

"I don't think tutoring Santana is a waste of time." Mike defended. How could her own mother act like this? Mike looked over to Santana who continued to stare sadly at the ground.

"This one here is a lost cause. We've given her some of the best tutors money could buy with the same dismal results. As such I've concentrated on trying to get her a husband. The only thing going for her now is her looks and sadly, she needed help with that." Mrs. Lopez stated coldly. Mike saw Santana cross her arms as if trying to cover her chest. Mike decided then and there that he didn't like this woman.

"I don't agree with you. Santana is beautiful even before she got 'help' and I don't think she's a lost cause at all. So if you don't mind we need a quiet place in order for me to begin my tutor session." Mike stated calmly.

Mrs. Lopez stared at him in shock and quietly watched as Santana led him up the stairs to her room. As soon as Santana closed the door Mike deflated; he had never told an adult off let alone someone's parent. They both sat in silence for a moment as Mike took in Santana's room. The first thing he noticed was the black walls; he doesn't think he's ever been in a room with black walls before. Next, was how neat Santana kept her room and the oddly placed collection of stuffed animals. It was such a jarring difference and Mike never expected Santana to be one to collect teddy bears and stuff; he could have sworn he saw a Stitch plushie buried in there somewhere.

"Thank you." Santana said breaking the silence and stopping Mike from inching closer to the stuffed animal collection.

"You're welcome but why did she say all those things about you?" Mike asked.

Santana sighed, "She's always been like that. If she sees a flaw then the whole world has to know about it and then she makes a big show about fixing it. I guess she does it to make her feel better about herself or something."

"But then why is she trying so hard to find you a boyfriend?" Mike asked.

Santana frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well if the unnecessary cosmetic surgery was supposed to fix some supposed flaw with your looks and the tutor was supposed to fix your grades, then what is the boyfriend supposed to fix?" Mike clarified. It was a bit underhanded he had to admit, but Mike really wanted to see how she would react to his question.

Santana faltered and looked around the room in a mild panic, "Um…"

Mike waited silently, just observing her reaction, which told him everything that he needed to know; Mrs. Lopez suspected Santana of being gay and judging by the hostility directed towards her daughter, she wasn't very happy with the idea. Mike swallowed hard at this realization and decided to save Santana from having to answer his question.

"You don't have to answer that." He finally said and Santana relaxed.

"Okay."

"I do want to know something else though. Why does your mom think you're a lost cause academically?"

Santana sighed and crossed her arms, "My mom thinks I'm stupid and the only thing I'll ever be able to do is to marry someone successful in order to do well in life. My dad thinks I'm just lazy and that if I put half as much energy into studying as I put into cheerleading then I would be getting straight A's. He forgets that I have Brittany to help me out and constantly go over the cheers with me so that I can remember them correctly. It always annoys me when they insult my intelligence and treat me like I don't understand things, I'm not stupid."

"I know you're not stupid." Mike said reassuringly.

"It's just hard you know." Santana sighed, "I try so hard and I keep getting bad grades and then I have to see their disappointed faces every time. Sometimes I don't even know what's worse; seeing my dad disappointed or knowing that my mother has given up and doesn't care anymore."

Mike swallowed thickly and blinked back any signs of tears, "It'll be okay, I'll help you. Let's start with your homework."

They had been at this for fifteen minutes; fifteen minutes full of Mike going over the current chapter that Santana's class was covering, showing step by step how to solve the problems, and Santana giving him blank looks that would have given Brittany a run for her money.

"Okay." Mike said as he finished explaining for a third time, "Let's give you a problem to try on your own."

Santana looked completely lost and unsure but nodded anyways. Mike smiled encouragingly and looked through her worksheet to try and find a problem that would be fairly easy.

"Okay, try this one; solve by factoring." Mike said showing her the problem.

Mike sat quietly as he waited for Santana to slowly work through the equation. Mike was slightly worried at how long it was taking her to move through each step and the fact that most of the time was spend counting on her fingers and using scratch paper. Upon looking closer at the blank sheet of scratch paper Mike noticed something odd; Santana was adding to multiply. He couldn't believe his eyes; he had never encountered something like this. Not only was Santana adding to multiply she had to count on her fingers to add. Mike was at a loss on what to do with this information.

"Santana, what are you doing?" Mike asked quietly and cautiously.

Santana looked up, "I was trying to figure out eight times nine."

"So you started to add eight, nine times?" Mike asked.

Santana bit her lip and looked down in embarrassment, "Yeah is that bad?"

"No, but it takes and extremely long time to figure out the answer that way. Don't you know your multiplication facts?"

Santana couldn't even look him in the eye as she slowly shook her head in the negative. Mike looked at her completely shocked; how did she manage to make it to high school with barely being able to do the basic functions of math? He was pretty sure there was a saying out there about weak foundations but this was whole new level of sucking at math; one that he was not prepared to handle. Mike was starting to reevaluate just how much he would be able to help her.

"Wow, I…" Mike started but was completely at a loss on what to say.

"Maybe I am a lost cause." Santana said sadly.

"No! I refuse to believe that, we just have to keep trying. At least let's try finishing your homework." Mike stated. Santana sighed and agreed.

An hour had passed and they only managed to get through a fourth of the problems assigned and Mike could tell that Santana was becoming more and more frustrated as time went on. Her breaking point was when they came across an equation that had fractions in it. Mike didn't fully understand why Santana seemed weary of the equation until he had her attempt to solve it.

Mike watched quietly as Santana stared at the problem with a deep look of concentration; the girl was thinking so hard he could see it on her face. He was completely thrown for a loop when Santana suddenly burst into tears and threw her pencil down in anger.

"I hate this! Why the fuck do I need to learn this anyways? When the hell am I ever going to use this shit?" Santana cried out in frustration before she ran from the room in tears. Mike tried to follow her but Santana ran into the bathroom and shut the door in his face.

Mike tried the handle but found that the door was locked and he was forced to listen as Santana had, what he would describe as, an emotional breakdown. He rested his head on the door, he could feel his heart aching for the girl; he couldn't imagine how it must feel to constantly fail at something no matter how hard you try to succeed. All Mike wanted to do was give Santana a hug and tell her that everything would be okay and that things would get better but he didn't know if that would help. He doesn't know how long he stood outside the bathroom listening to Santana cry her frustrations out but he was a bit relieved when her tears seemed to finally subside.

"Santana." Mike said hoping to get her to open the door.

"Leave me alone." Was her quiet reply.

"But Santana-" Mike tried.

"Please." Santana said with such desperation that Mike just sighed in return.

"Okay. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He replied quietly before grabbing his things and leaving her house.

* * *

><p>Walking dejectedly into his house Mike was met with the sounds of laughter. He looked into the living room to see his parents cuddling on the couch and watching a movie. When they both noticed him and his emotional state their smiles faded.<p>

"Honey what's wrong?" Mrs. Chang asked as she untangled herself from her husband.

Mike walked over to the recliner and sat down with a sigh, "I just got back from Santana's."

"You were tutoring her today right?" Mr. Chang asked and Mike nodded.

"Well, I'm assuming it didn't go well." Mrs. Chang prodded gently.

"It was horrible. She's a whole new level of bad at math and I don't know what to do." Mike said as he put his head in his hands missing the concerned look his parents gave each other.

"Why don't you start from the beginning and explain what happened." Mrs. Chang suggested.

Mike looked up and sighed, "Well, I met her mom but that's a story for another time. Long story short the woman in horrible. Anyways I thought I could help Santana with her homework, explain things, show her a few examples and stuff like that." Mike started and his parents nodded in understanding.

"But that's when things started to go wrong." Mike paused as he tried to think of what to say next. "Santana is in a trig class and she can barely multiply." He blurted out. His parents' reaction was instantaneous as they both stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean she can barely multiply?" Mr. Chang asked while Mrs. Chang looked thoughtful.

"I mean that she was adding on scratch paper and her fingers in order to solve simple multiplication problems. Don't even think about giving her anything harder than that. One problem required her to solve fractions; she burst into tears and ran from the room." Mike explained.

"Is the public school system that bad that something like this could've happened?" Mr. Chang mused aloud and Mike had to stop and wonder the same thing himself.

"I honestly don't think the school system had anything to do with this but they probably didn't help." Mrs. Chang said cryptically. "I have an idea, let me make a few calls and see if you can have Santana come over tomorrow. I need to talk to her." She finished before leaving the room and grabbing the phone.

"Any idea what that was about?" Mike asked his dad who only shrugged in response.

* * *

><p>The next day was a bit odd; things with Tina were a bit awkward as he was still mad at her about yesterday and Santana was once again avoiding him. It wasn't to the extent of last time but he could tell that she was still embarrassed about yesterday. Mike made his way to his locker and shook his head; he doesn't understand how Finn does it. Dealing with two girls was hard work and he was only in a relationship with one of them. Most of his day was spent in awkward silences with both Tina and Santana and Mike really didn't know what to do.<p>

Glee was just as bad; Santana didn't even sit next to him, something Tina seemed to be extremely happy about. Mike was only comforted by the fact that Santana was sitting next to Brittany. Maybe some good came out of their awkwardness. Mr. Shue walked into the room excited to start the meeting, given that Sectionals was next week.

"Mr. Shuester I have an announcement. I have picked out the perfect moving ballad for Finn and I to sing to launch our performance at Sectionals." Rachel said happily and Mike had to resist rolling his eyes.

"Me first," He replied effectively dismissing her idea, "Two things; first our competition at Sectionals are your classic school choirs. Great voices but they don't move and if we're going to beat them we need to do what they can't, dance; which is why I've decided to feature Brittany and Mike Chang's sweet moves in our performance." Mr. Shue finishes.

Mike looks up in shock before a large grin appears on his face. Tina congratulates him and kisses him on the cheek. Out of the corner of his eye Mike see's Santana smile brightly at Brittany and give her a high five.

"Wait they're going to dance in front of me while I sing my solo?" Rachel asks and just like that the mood is broken.

"You're not getting a solo for this competition Rachel." Mr. Shue replies calmly and Mike can already see Rachel starting to panic.

"Finally, so what song do I get to sing?" Mercedes asks happily and Mike is slightly annoyed that she assumed she would get a solo just the same as Rachel did.

"I was thinking the winners of our duets competition would take the leads." Mr. Shue replied happily. Everyone but Finn and Rachel turned to give the pair a congratulations or a smile.

"Ken and Barbie? Wait a-a-are you trying to throw this?" Rachel asks rudely and Mike has a strange foreboding feeling in the bottom of his stomach; why could she never be happy for someone else?

"You used to be just sort of unlikable but now I pretty much feel like punching you every time you open your mouth." Quinn states angrily. This was going really bad really quickly.

"Okay listen, I have talked the talk about everyone here feeling special for little over a year now but frankly I haven't walked the walk. I mean we have got a lot of talent here and I'm going to highlight it." Mr. Shue said obviously trying to calm everyone down. Mike was just shocked that he attempted to put a stop to the argument before it escalated to boiling point and start started to relax.

Looking over Mike sees Rachel nudge Finn and stage whisper, "Do something."

Maybe he had started to relax too soon?

"Look I'm all for pumping up the team and making everyone feel special but that's for practice. You don't take the star quarterback out before the big game." Finn states nervously. Mike couldn't believe him, Finn wouldn't be half as good as he was if he didn't have the rest of the team making sure he didn't get sacked.

"Yup." Rachel quietly agrees.

"That's easy to say when you're the star quarterback." Tina said breaking the silence and Mike was secretly proud of his girlfriend.

"This isn't just about me this is about the team." Finn replies and Mike almost snorts. _The team?_ Finn and Rachel don't care about the team; all they care about is being front and center while the rest of them sway in the background.

"You are such a hypocrite." Santana states angrily and Mike couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Like you even know what that means." Rachel says haughtily. Mike's eyes widen in fear; Rachel just unknowingly hit on one of Santana's biggest pet peeves. Mike quickly looked back to see Santana's eyes narrow and her body stiffen up as she geared up for a fight. Mike had heard people speak of those moments when you know that everything is about to go horribly wrong but there is nothing you can do but watch it all happen; this was most definitely one of those moments.

Mike could do nothing as he watched Santana lean forward and sneer at the brunette, "It means your boyfriend is full of crap hobbit."

Mike silently hoped that Rachel would leave it at that but today didn't seem to be his lucky day as Rachel stood up to face Santana, "You know what, ever since the wedding you have been up my butt and I'm sick of it."

"Come on Rachel she's not worth it." Finn says nervously. Mike really wished that Finn had stayed out of it but now he had made things worse; why wasn't Mr. Shue putting a stop to any of this?

"Oh really? 'Cuz that's not what you said last year in that motel room. That's right yentl, your sweetheart, he's been lying to you 'cuz he and I totally got it on last year." Santana said smugly and Mike watched as Rachel's face fell as she stood in front of the group completely stunned.

"Okay enough already! No more conversations about this or anything. This is our plan for sectionals and that is that. Mike Brittany come on up, let's start choreographing." Mr. Shue said finally putting an end to everything.

The rest of the meeting was full of awkward silence and the murmurs of Quinn and Sam as they discussed ideas for their duet. As for Brittany and himself; they were given the solo piece. Most of their time was spent going over choreography wit Mr. Shue.

"Okay now that we got the choreography down, who is going to sing?" Mr. Shue asked.

Mike could feel the fear at the very thought of singing in front of a crowd start to rise and he stared at Mr. Shue blankly, "I can't sing."

Mr. Shue then turned to Brittany and Mike could have sworn that he'd never seen Brittany's eyes get so big.

"I've never sang by myself before. What if I mess up and we lose Sectionals. I don't think I could handle that kind of pressure." Brittany said shakily.

"What should we do?" Mike asked quietly.

"Maybe we could get someone else to sing while we dance?" Brittany suggested.

"Mr. Shue could we do that?" Mike asked turning to Mr. Shue who was writing down their previously discussed choreography.

"Sure, who did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Santana." Brittany said immediately before Mike could even open his mouth.

"Mike do you agree?" Mr. Shue asked turning to him. Mike nodded silently; maybe having a solo could make Santana feel better about yesterday.

"Alright it's settled. You guys practice and show me what you've got on Monday. We're counting on you for our win at Sectionals." Mr. Shue says with a smile before dismissing everyone. The room clears out pretty quickly and Tina makes her way over to him.

"Are you coming or what?" she asks.

"No sorry, I've got to practice with Brittany. Mr. Shue wants us to have something by Monday." Mike replies. They kiss each other goodbye and Mike watches as she leaves.

"So, why are we still here?" Santana asks next to him causing him to jump.

"What?" Mike asks.

"Did the two of you forget that you're the ones that give me a ride home? How come you aren't moving?" Santana asks.

"Mr. Shue wants us to have some of the choreography done by Monday so we have to practice." Brittany says.

"Great so now I'm stuck here with nothing to do." Santana says as she crosses her arms.

"Actually, we need you to help us." Mike stated.

"Yeah, we need you to sing our song as we dance." Brittany explained.

"Wait, Mr. Shue gave me a solo?" Santana asked.

"Well he gave Brittany and I the solo but I can't sing." Mike started explaining.

"Plus we'll be busy pulling of some sick dance moves. I'm not going to be able to sing either." Brittany further explained.

"So you chose me?" Santana asked and smiled brightly when they nodded in the affirmative. "Okay, I'll be happy to help." Mike smiled and Brittany jumped up and down in happiness.

Things were not going as well as planned. Mike sat on the stage floor of the school's dance studio completely out of breath. Brittany lay sprawled out next to him and looked slightly dazed. Mike was worried about the girl given that he had dropped her multiple times.

"I think we should call it a day." Santana said from the stereo as she stopped the music.

Mike nodded in agreement. They had picked Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie' as their song choice fairly easily. It was a good song and fit Santana's voice perfectly but it was the dancing that was giving them problems. On paper everything was perfect but when it came to executing the moves however was a completely different story.

"Here" Mike looked up and saw Santana handing him a cold water bottle.

"Thanks." Mike replies and happily drinks the water.

Brittany yawned, "I'm so tired."

"That's okay Britt we're stopping anyways." Santana says.

"When are we going to practice again?" Mike asked.

"I can't after school tomorrow, I've got motocross practice." Brittany replied.

"And I've got football practice so that's a no go for me also. We got that game coming up Thursday so next week is going to be hectic." Mike states.

"Fuck, I forgot about that game. I'm so used to Coach Sylvester acting like a pissed of demon out for blood that I completely forgot that there was a legitimate reason for it this time." Santana groaned.

"Also before I forget, is it possible for you to come over my house today Santana? My mom wants to talk to you."

Santana drops her bag in surprise, "Why does she want to speak to me?"

Mike just shrugs his shoulders, "She didn't say."

"Okay." Santana replied a little unsure.

Brittany got up and gathered her things, "Well, I'm off. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Maybe we could practice again tomorrow during lunch?"

"Sure." Mike said and Santana nodded.

"Okay." Brittany said before waving one final time and leaving out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure it's not something that I did?" Santana asked him for the third time since they entered into his car.<p>

"I don't know Santana. As far as I know you haven't done anything that would cause her to be upset with you." Mike replied with a sigh. He knew that she was freaking out but this was ridiculous.

"Look I'm sure everything will be okay, just calm down." Mike said reassuringly.

"Would you be calm if I came up to you one day and told you that my mom wanted to speak with you?" Santana asked in return.

Mike's eyes widened at the thought and he swallowed, "Touché."

Mike pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition. They sat in silence as Mike waited for Santana to collect herself. Mike turned to her, "You ready?"

Santana took a few deep breaths and nodded. They both exited the car and entered the house.

"Hey you two." Mr. Chang greeted on his way to the living room.

"Hey dad." Mike replied while Santana waved.

"Your mother is in the kitchen." Mr. Chang informed them.

"Okay." Mike said as he started to head to the kitchen. He was halfway there when he noticed that Santana wasn't following him. Mike walked back over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay." Mike said encouragingly as he led her into the kitchen. His mother was at the sink washing the dished when she noticed them.

"Hello." Mrs. Chang greeted.

"Hey mom."

"Hi." Santana greeted nervously.

"Oh good you came. Have a seat at the table; there are some things that I want to talk to you about." Mrs. Chang said as she walked towards the kitchen table. Santana glanced at him briefly before she sat down next to his mother.

"Mike give us a moment please." Mrs. Chang said and Mike left out of the kitchen. Walking into the living room Mike sits down next to his father. They sat in silence as they both watched an old black and white film on TV.

"Do you know what she's talking to Santana about?" Mike asked after a few minutes.

"All I know is that your mother is trying to help Santana out. You know how important education is for a successful life. Santana is a good girl and we want to help." Mr. Chang replied.

Mike nodded and started to relax; Santana wasn't in trouble, his mother was just looking out for Santana's best interest. Mike was happy that he wasn't alone in handling the situation anymore; if there's one person who can get to the bottom of something, it's his mom. Mike finished watching the movie with his dad and when the credits started rolling Mr. Chang stood up.

"Well I'm off to go take a nap. Are you still watching TV?"

"Yeah." Mike replied. Mr. Chang went upstairs and Mike spent a few moments mindlessly flipping through the channels. He jumped in surprise when Santana sat down next to him, in the kitchen he could hear his mother starting to prepare dinner. Mike turned to Santana who stared blankly ahead.

"Santana?" Mike said as he gently shook Santana out of her daze.

Santana turned to him but remained silent. Mike could tell that she was still trying to process whatever happened in the kitchen.

"What happened? Mike asked; he was dying to know what they talked about.

"We just talked…. Of all the explanations… I would have never thought of that. It all makes so much sense now…. Why didn't they notice earlier?" Santana said distractedly as she once again stared off into space.

"Santana you're not making any sense." Mike said. His voice seemed to snap Santana back to reality.

"Your mom wants to get me tested. She thinks there's a strong chance that I have a learning disability." Santana replied.

Mike stared at her in shock, "A learning disability?"

"Yeah." Santana replied quietly. Mike leaned back into the couch and they both sat in silence. Now that he thinks about it, Santana having a learning disability would make so much sense. There's no way she could be as bad a math as she is when she tries so hard.

"What if it comes back positive?" Santana asks after a moment.

"Then it would prove that you're not stupid or lazy. Your brain is just different." Mike replied.

Santana sighed, "I don't want to be different. I just want to be normal."

Mike glanced at her out of the corner of his eye; he really didn't have a way to respond to that.

* * *

><p>Friday, glorious Friday. Mike couldn't have been happier that this day had arrived. Most of school was great; his teachers seem just as impatient for the weekend as their students and had given very little homework. For Mike, most of his classes were spent thinking about Santana and that drama, Tina, and his choreography for his and Brittany's solo.<p>

Lunch came around all too quickly and instead of heading to the cafeteria as usual Mike headed for the dance room. When he got there however, only Santana was present.

"Where's Brittany?" Mike asked.

"I was just about to ask you." Santana replied. Before Mike could open his mouth Brittany bounced happily into the room.

"Hey guys are you ready to start?"

"Yeah." Mike said as he started to stretch.

"Britt why are you so happy." Santana asked.

"Oh, I have a really good feeling about Sectionals. See Artie gave me his magic comb and with that we can't lose." Brittany said happily while placing her bag down and beginning to stretch. Mike narrowed his eyes in confusion. He looked over to Santana and mouthed the words 'magic comb' as Santana looked at him with disgust clearly written on her face.

"Britt you do know that the comb isn't magical right?" Santana asked.

"Yeah duh, I know that but Artie believes it is and I'm not going to ruin that for him." Brittany said as she rolled her eyes. Mike was relieved that Brittany hadn't believed such a foolish thing and was only humoring Artie. Speaking of Artie, Mike knew for a fact that Artie didn't believe in that type of stuff and he was going to have to talk to the guy about how he treated his girlfriend; this was beyond ridiculous and bordering on insulting.

"Okay. Ready to start?" Mike asked and practice began.

* * *

><p>Mike lay tiredly in his bed, amazingly enough despite the fact that he was extremely tired he couldn't seem to fall asleep. Looking over at his clock he saw that it was almost one in the morning. Just as he was about to doze off his phone went off, scaring him into wakefulness.<p>

"Hello?" Mike answered. There was only silence on the other end that was broken by quiet sobs.

"Hello?" He asked again.

"Mike." Came the watery reply and Mike instantly recognized the person to be Santana. He immediately became concerned; why was she calling him so late at night in tears.

"Santana what happened?" Mike asked voice full of concern. He was met with sobs as Santana broke down in tears. Mike spent the rest of the call trying to reassure Santana that everything would be alright and trying to get her to tell him what was going on until she cried herself to sleep. Needless to say, Mike didn't get very much sleep that night."

* * *

><p>The following week was hectic to say the least. Mike was so busy staying on top of his grades (nothing less than an A was accepted), practicing for their up and coming football game, and practice for Sectionals he hardly had time to sleep. He hadn't even been able to get Santana to explain why she had called him in tears that one night. When he had tried to push the subject Santana had snapped at him and went on a rampage. Mike was slightly upset that she was still ignoring her problems and not facing them but old habits die hard. He had barely even seen Tina this week outside of glee and passing periods in between classes and he felt bad about not having time to spend with his girlfriend. Mike thought of her as he got on the bus full of his football teammates and Cheerios. Wait, he was confused. Why were the Cheerios on their bus? Didn't they have their own?<p>

"Hey Finn, why are the Cheerios on the bus?" Mike asked the tall boy.

"Budget cuts, we're actually on their bus. Sue was pretty pissed about it." Finn replied and Mike nodded in understanding.

"Hey you want the window seat?" Finn offered.

"Sure thanks." Mike replied with a smile as he sat down. Mike was getting comfortable when he heard Artie being loaded into the bus and Brittany's giggle. At least he knew where Brittany was now he just had to find Santana.

"Get up Frankenteen you're in my seat." Santana said standing next to them glaring down at Finn.

"I was sitting here first Santana." Finn replied simply.

"Yeah and quite frankly I don't give a shit, move." Santana said angrily.

"No."

"Yo Puckerman, Finn's been talking shit about your Call of Duty skills!" Santana yelled out over the noisy bus to Puck who was towards the back.

"Hudson what the fuck man, I thought we were cool!" Puck replied back angrily.

Finn turned to Santana and stood angrily, "You're such a bitch."

"And proud of it." Santana said as Finn stalked off to try and calm down Puck. Santana sat down next to him and smiled, "Hi."

"You know you could've just asked him for the seat nicely right?" Mike replied.

"I got him to move didn't I? What does it matter how I did it?" Santana huffed. Mike sighed; Santana had been like this all week. He doesn't know what's going on but it has to be bad if she's turned her dial up to eleven. Mike's never seen her be as mean as she's been this week.

"Santana it wasn't very nice and you won't make friends if you keep being mean to people." Mike said.

"Whatever, people only act like that because they're jealous and they only call me a bitch because they can't handle the truth."

"Is that what you truly believe?" Mike asked.

"It's true, people only call me a bitch because I keep it real and all the other Cheerihoes can't stand me 'cuz all the guys want me. There isn't a guy in this school that doesn't want to date me." Santana says haughtily. Mike's shoulders slumped and he sighed. She really believed this; Mike didn't even know where to begin to explain to her how people really viewed her.

"Why are you looking like that?" Santana asked as she eyed him suspiciously.

"Umm…." Mike stuttered out, caught completely off guard.

Santana's eyes narrow "Spit it out Chang. What do you know?"

Mike sighed again; he really didn't want to be the person to tell her the truth but he was her friend and he was morally obligated to.

"The truth is Santana nobody, with the exception of me and Brittany, respect you. I mean if you heard some of the things the guys say-"

"What do they say?" Santana interrupted.

Mike hesitated, "I couldn't possibly; don't make me repeat it."

"Come on tell me the truth. What are they saying?" Santana asked.

"Okay." Mike took a deep breath to calm himself and prepare for what he was about to repeat; he didn't know if he would be able to do this.

"She's such a stupid stuck up bitch I can't believe anyone in their right mind would date her. The only thing she's good for is a quick fuck, I would never date her. I wouldn't touch that bitch with a ten foot pole if someone paid me to, who know what type diseases she could be carrying. I heard she had sex with Hudson in a motel, who the fuck brags about that shit like it's something to be proud of, it just shows that she's a classless, dirty, cheap whore." Mike stopped when he noticed that Santana was full on crying; it made him feel worse than that one time he broke his mom's favorite figurine when he was six.

"Santana I'm sorry." Mike said as he touched her on the shoulder. Santana shrugged his hand off and ignored him; the rest of their ride was spent in silence.

* * *

><p>Mike couldn't believe it; they had won. They had actually won and made it to the championship; Mike jumped around in celebration with the rest of his team before he was nearly knocked over by and excited Santana and Brittany as they hugged him. Mike looked over in the crowd and saw Tina and Mercedes jumping and screaming in excitement. When he caught Tina's eye, Mike waved frantically; he was happy that his girlfriend got a chance to see his team make it to the championship round. Making their way back to the bus Mike was quickly reminded of what happened one their trip here. He hadn't had time to talk to her after they had gotten off the bus but Mike was determined to fix things.<p>

Mike sat in his seat and waited for everyone to get seated; it took a while longer as everyone was excited but Coach Beiste had eventually managed to get everyone to sit down.

"Hey now, we filled our end of the bargain now they have to fill theirs" Puck shouted out over the noise.

"What are you talking about Puckerman?" Azimio asked.

"Don't tell me you guys forgot. Last year Lopez and Pierce promised us a full make out session if we made it to the championship." Puck explained to a surprisingly silent bus. Mike actually remembered that happening but he also remembered that Santana only said that because she was sure they would never win a game let alone make it to the championship game.

"Shit, I'd completely forgotten about that." Santana mumbled silently next to him.

"Puckerman, now is not the time for that." Coach Beiste said.

"Aww come on Coach they promised. It's not like they care." Puck said looking at the two girls in question. Santana only shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's true, I don't mind." Brittany said from her seat in the back causing the boys to cheer in excitement.

"Excuse me but I do." Artie interrupted loudly.

"What? Abrams come on man." Puck whined.

"No, Brittany's my girlfriend and I'm not happy with her making out with someone else even if it is a girl." Artie replied angrily as he crossed his arms.

"If Artie doesn't want me to do it then I won't." Brittany said simply. All of the guys groaned and grumbled in disappointment. Mike noticed that Santana looked just as disappointed as the guys and, oddly enough, David Karofsky looked relieved and happy about the development. Mike started to ponder about that information but decided not to; he had enough to deal with already. The bus ride was mostly silent save for a few conversations between people.

Mike was shaken out of his musings as he looked out of the window when Santana's head fell onto his shoulder.

"I'm not mad at you." She said quietly.

"Good, I felt really bad about making you cry." Mike replied in relief.

"It was just really hard hearing that stuff, especially when it came from you but I think I needed to hear it. But it's moments like this when you really confuse me. I mean out of all the guys in this school, you're the only one who ever really treat me with any type of respect; you don't stare at my chest or my ass, you don't try to grope me, and you just treat me like a human being." Santana said.

"You deserve to be treated with respect and I'm your friend. But Santana you can't keep going around and sleeping with anyone who is willing. It makes people loose respect for you and say the things that they do behind your back." Mike replied.

"But if I stop sleeping with all those guys…." Santana mumbled out.

"Why do you need to sleep with so many guys? What are you trying to prove?" Mike asked quietly. Santana didn't reply, she only latched onto his arm and bury her face into his shoulder. A few minutes had passed in silence and Mike had started to slightly doze off.

"If I stop sleeping with guys I'll have to admit I only like girls." Santana mumbled out sleepily. Her voice was so low that Mike almost didn't hear her; luckily for him Santana was really close to his ear. He looked over at her from the corner of his eye only to find the young Latina to be fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Friday morning was one of the best mornings Mike has had in a while. He was still feeling the effects of their win yesterday and received many high fives and congratulations from classmates and teammates alike. To make his day even better, Principal Figgins made an announcement about the team's win and subsequent progression to the championship round that caused a mini celebration in the halls.<p>

Through all the celebration and attention Mike was getting he realized he had yet to see Tina. Looking over the hallway Mike saw Brittany at her locker and walked over.

"Hey Britt have you seen Tina?"

Brittany turned to face him, "Yeah she was just in the choir room not too long ago."

"Thanks, we're still on for practice during lunch right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. Oh wait!" Brittany said as he started to turn away.

"What is it?"

Brittany reaches into her locker and pulls out some lip balm, "Your lips looked extra chapped."

"Thanks." Mike said as he applied some before giving it back to Brittany.

"Keep it." Brittany replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked and Brittany nodded.

"Thanks." Mike waved goodbye as he went off in search of his girlfriend. Nearing the choir room, Mike finally saw Tina but stopped in his tracks when he saw what she was wearing. Tina had her hair in pigtails and was wearing what looked like the Goth version of the Cheerio's uniform.

Tina smiled as she saw him and walked over, "Hey, do you like my new outfit?"

"Yeah, it looks great." Mike replied; it wasn't exactly a lie, the outfit did look nice.

"I thought I could be glee club's own cheerleader, hence the GC." Tina said but Mike could tell there was a hidden motive to this outfit.

"We'll need all the moral support we can get. I really like the new outfit Tina" Mike stated.

"I knew you would." Tina replied while eyeing Santana as she tripped a student in the hall. Mike sighed; Tina was still jealous of Santana and Santana was still taking her anger out on everyone else. Seeing Santana caused Mike to remember what she said on the bus when she thought he was asleep. Mike decided he would ask her about it later. The warning bell rang signaling that it was time to head to class.

"I'll see you later." Tina says.

"sure." Mike replied before leaning down and kissing her. When he pulled back he noticed Tina frowning.

"Tina?"

"Why do you taste like Brittany's cherry lip smacker?" Tina asked accusingly.

Mike stared at her; how in the world did she know it was Brittany's? Mike was completely caught off guard and took too long to answer.

"I should've known what with all the time you two were spending together recently. Here I was worried about Santana and all along it was Brittany I should have been keeping an eye on." Tina said angrily before storming off. Mike sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before heading to class.

* * *

><p>Practice today was even more stressful than it's ever been before; Sectionals were tomorrow and Mike and Brittany were trying to make sure everything was perfect. Their choreography was going good but the last lift was so unstable half the time it didn't even work. It also didn't help that he was currently having relationship issues with Tina.<p>

Mike looked over to Brittany and noticed her frowning, "Britt what's wrong?"

"Artie's gonna be mad at me." Brittany replied simply.

"Why?"

"I lost it. I can't believe I lost his magic comb." Brittany replied sadly. Mike took a deep breath to calm down; she was still concerned about the comb. He really just wanted to shake her and said the comb didn't matter.

"Let's just practice. We'll worry about other things later." Mike said instead.

* * *

><p>Mike and Santana sat in silence as he drove her home. It wasn't an awkward silence and it allowed time for Mike to contemplate whether he should bring up yesterday or not. He was pretty sure that Santana hadn't meant for him to hear her mini confession to liking girls but he did hear it and was concerned about the fact that Santana seemed to not like that part of herself.<p>

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Santana asked, breaking the silence. Mike paused; well if she was going to ask him about it he might as well as say what's on his mind.

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said yesterday on the bus."

"You mean about me not blaming you for saying all that stuff?" Santana asked slightly confused.

"Not that, the other thing. What you said after I asked you why you had to sleep with so many guys." Mike clarified.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't say anything." Santana replied. Mike glanced at her as she said this and caught the way her eyes immediately looked down.

"You're a pretty good liar but you always give yourself away. I heard you, I wasn't asleep." Mike said and he saw Santana look slightly panicked before hiding behind a stoic face.

"I really don't know what you heard but clearly you were mistaken." Santana said coldly. Mike figured she was trying to warn him to leave the subject but he wouldn't. Maybe this was wrong way to handle the situation but he wasn't going to let her keep running from this. Mike pulled the car over to the side of the road and put it in park.

"What are you doing?" Santana asked.

Mike turned to Santana to give her his undivided attention, "Look, I know you're trying to play it off but I heard you admit to liking girls, only girls. Quite frankly it's not the first time I heard you allude to it and I've let you pretend to be completely straight but Santana you don't have to pretend with me."

"How would you know I'm not straight?" Santana asked and Mike could hear the tremor in her voice. At least he was getting somewhere.

"Because I know for a fact that you slept with Brittany on a regular basis before she got with Artie. Straight girls don't do that Santana." Mike replied bluntly; honesty seemed the best choice in this situation. Santana stared at her hands like they were the most interesting thing in the world and stayed quiet for a long time.

"It's okay y'know. It's okay if you're gay." Mike said quietly.

"But it's not." Santana replied quietly before bursting into tears. Mike reached over to hug her and Santana grabbed onto him and held on for dear life as sobs racked her body. Mike let her cry out her frustrations and rubbed her back the way his mom used to when he was a kid; it always calmed him down. It took a few minutes but Santana finally calmed down and slowly stopped crying. Mike continued to just hold her as they sat in silence.

"I know… I know this is hard for you, I can't even imagine how hard it is but….I'm here for you. I'm here and you don't have to hide from me. Even if I'm the only person, at least you have someone you can be yourself around. I accept you for you, all of you." Mike said to her quietly and he felt Santana squeeze him just a little bit tighter as she nodded her head in understanding.

* * *

><p>Today was the day, Sectionals was finally here and all of New Directions, except Rachel and Mr. Shue, were gathered in the green room. They had already seen the other groups perform and Mike felt pretty good about their chances. The only real competition that they had came from the Warblers and that was only vocally; they had hardly moved at all during their performance. Looking around the room Mike could feel the tension in the room; everything that was left unsaid between some members was simmering just under the surface. He didn't like it, usually when this type of tension surrounded them it only took one person to set it off.<p>

"The costumes are causing some unmentionable chafing." Lauren complained to Puck and Mike tried not to chuckle.

"You okay?" Mike heard Sam ask. He turned to look next to him and saw Quinn who looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

"No I'm freaking out. The last time I performed on stage I went into labor, I think I'm having post traumatic stress disorder." Quinn said as she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself; Sam just continued to rub her back.

"Just FYI, I'm totally available to fill in." Mercedes said quickly and Mike was a bit annoyed that she didn't even look the least bit concerned about Quinn at all.

"No more running, from me or your lies. I hope their judging on dancing and adultery because your ace at both of them." Artie said angrily and Mike looked over in confusion; did he hear that right? What was going on?

"I don't understand how you found out. I'm so stupid, I can't believe I did it, I never felt so bad about anything in my life." Brittany said as Artie wheeled away from her in anger.

"What's Artie all worked up about?" He asked Tina. Mike had a feeling it was about the comb but he did have give Artie a look for not telling Brittany that she's not stupid; because the girl really isn't.

"You're such a jerk." Tina scoffed and Mike sighed. With all the drama yesterday he had forgotten that she was mad at him, again.

"You told Kurt?" Rachel asked as she stormed in. Mike had a feeling that Rachel was going to be the one person to set everything off. He didn't understand why she couldn't just let it die, it's been over a week now.

"I don't remember, maybe?" Finn replied.

"About Finn and Santana? No I think I told him." Mercedes stated nonchalantly.

"Well then who told you?" Rachel asked.

"Me." Quinn spoke up, "I think Brittany told me or maybe it was Puck."

"Yeah, it was me." Puck agreed.

"Everybody knew this but me?" Rachel asked around the room shocked.

"Pretty much, nobody told you anything because: A, you're a blabber mouth. B, we just pretend to like you." Santana replied coldly. Mike looked at her; he knew for a fact that she didn't tell Rachel because she was waiting for Finn to man up and tell her.

"That's not true, I kind of like her." Puck defended quietly.

Finn stood up and faced Rachel, "Look Rachel when this all happened you were dating another guy so you don't really have a right to be pissed at me about it okay? And fine I shouldn't have lied about it, to be honest that isn't what you care about, you care about the Santana of it all."

"Oh who are you right now." Rachel replied angrily, gearing up for an argument.

"Best green room ever." Lauren stated as she munched on popcorn.

"You know what? You guys are going to have to find someone else to mindlessly harmonize in the background because I'm not going on stage with him!" Rachel ranted. Mike almost snorted aloud; _mindlessly harmonize in the background? _That was rich, that's what she expected them to do for her all the time.

"Make that two subs. I'm not going out there with Brittany." Artie said suddenly.

"Me either!" Tina joined in as she glared at him. Why did everything have to fall apart right before they performed?

"Enough!" Mr. Shue reprimanded as he walked into the room. "Listen to yourselves, I am ashamed of you. Think back to where you were this time last year; no choreography, no set list, and no chance in hell of winning. But you did win because you did it together. Look I don't care if you guys hate each other, all I want is for you guys to go out there and sing together. Get up there and for six minutes remind yourselves that you're not alone." The room was silent as Mr. Shue finished his speech. The lights flash signaling their time to go on stage.

"Alright show time."

After their performance, the new directions stay on stage as the others are brought out to hear the results. They didn't have to wait long as it was soon announced that they would be moving on to Regionals; the only downside being that they tied with the Warblers. It wasn't the best but Mike would take the win and he smiled and chuckled when he noticed Mr. Shue take the trophy and bring it over to their side.

* * *

><p>That Monday as he walked down the hall on his way to glee Mike ran into Tina.<p>

"Hey, are you still made at me?" Mike asked.

"No, I talked to Brittany. Why didn't you just tell me that Brittany let you have her lip smacker?" Tina asked.

"You didn't give me time to explain." Mike said before he noticed that Tina was back to the way she regularly dressed. "You changed your look."

"Yeah this is more me. Sorry I doubted you Mike." Tina said as they walked into the choir room.

"Asian kiss?" Mike asked jokingly and Tina smiled.

"Asian kiss." Tina replied leaning over.

"Congratulations guys. It wasn't pretty but we're moving on and I for one am going to be happy to have Regionals and Nationals to focus on." Mr. Shue said happily as he walked over to the group as they were congregating around the piano.

"Mr. Shue we heard the news of Mrs. Pillsbury marrying the finest dentist alive." Santana said and Mike watched as Mr. Shue's smile slightly faltered.

"It's alright. We don't need to talk about it. Now, I know we've had our umm…dramas this week but our family's back in a happy place and I think we should celebrate the best we know how. Rachel so how would you like this solo." Mr. Shue said and it was right back to square one. Didn't this whole thing start because he kept automatically going to Rachel and offering her solos first? Some people never learned.

"Thanks but I don't really feel like a solo right now." Rachel said quietly. Mike had heard about her Finn breaking up and was really shocked that it came to that. "I'd like to defer it to this week's two unsung heroes; Mercedes and Tina."

"Well don't have to ask me twice." Mercedes said as she smiled to Tina and they started to sing 'Dog Days Are Over'. It was a fun performance and it gave everyone a chance to let go of everything and just have fun. Santana even danced with Artie briefly and for those few minutes everything seemed right in the world.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, that was a doozy. Look at how long that is. This has to be my new record for chapter length. So a few things; I'm wondering how many people were surprised about me possibly giving Santana a learning disability. Also, about her somewhat coming out to Mike; I don't think it's too early. I fully believe that Santana knew she was gay way before 'Sexy' even happened and that she was just in serious denial. I figure that with someone there for her and actually forcing her to deal with her feelings and not run away, she would admit to them very easily. It's basically what happened with Brittany when she got tired of Santana's bullshit and made them talk to someone about what they were going through. So with that said, until next time.<strong>


	6. The Sue Sylvester Shuffle

**I know, I'm sorry for the late update but for the past, (what has it been?) three weeks, I have been busy with school projects, writer's block (I swear that hiatus killed my brain), work, and my dog hurt herself and had to get surgery. Then when I was finally done with the chapter, my internet went out. Now that my apologies are out of the way, enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Tuesdays are a funny day; not as hated as Monday but not quite as tolerated as Wednesday. Mike could honestly say that Tuesdays were his favorite day only due to the fact that his favorite TV show came on that day. Walking into school that morning, Mike was happy; his team made it to the championship game, Tina was no longer angry at him, and the glee club was no longer at an emotional boiling point. Speaking of which, Mike looks over to see a smiling Tina making her over and kiss him in greeting.<p>

"Hey how are you?" Tina asks smiling.

"Fine but Coach has been riding us hard in practice and our schedule is crazy. But I was thinking that maybe we could do something next weekend?" Mike asks shyly.

"Mike Chang are you asking me out on a date?" Tina teased.

"Yes. I was thinking about Friday or Saturday after the championship game." Mike clarified.

"It's perfect, I can't wait." Tina replies as they make their way to class.

* * *

><p>Mike eagerly makes his way to the cafeteria; since he didn't skip breakfast this morning he's not starving. This only served to boost his already good mood. He and Brittany even had a mini dance off in the hallway before an angry Sue Sylvester chased them away. Mike chuckled at the memory and quickly got his food before sitting at his usual table. It wasn't very long before he was joined by Santana; she didn't have any food nor did she sit down.<p>

"You're not eating today?" Mike asked as he put down his fork.

"No, I got some missed assignments to make up. I wanted to ask…" Santana trailed off and started to fiddle with her hands.

"Yes?" Mike prodded gently.

Santana took a deep breath, "My doctor's appointment is today, for my testing. I… I don't want to go alone, so if you didn't mind, could you come with me?"

"Sure." Mike replied and Santana sighed in relief. Mike didn't blame her for being afraid. He couldn't imagine how nerve racking this must be for Santana, let alone attempting to go by herself. Wait, why wasn't one of her parents going with her? Mike internally sighed; he wasn't about to open that can of worms. Mike waves 'goodbye' to Santana as she rushes out of the cafeteria and he was left alone. Mike was nearly done with his food when he was joined by Mercedes.

"So no Santana today?"

"She had to make up some class work." Mike replied evenly.

"What were you two talking about just now?" Mercedes asked and Mike had to keep from rolling his eyes at how nosey she was being.

"It's private."

"So you guys have private business now?" Mercedes prods.

"Yup, sure do." Mike replies evenly.

"Look be distant all you want but I've been hearing some things around school and if there's anything going on-"

"There's nothing going on between Santana and I." Mike defends angrily; he was tired of this. Wait, people were talking about them?

"'You're just friends' bla bla. Look I got sources that have spotted the two of you around town together and have given me info about that bus ride from the game."

"What about it?" Mike asked confused.

"Apparently the two of you were all snuggled up and looking very much like a couple." Mercedes explained.

Mike thought back, "You mean when we fell asleep on the ride home? Oh come on Mercedes, you can't tell me that you haven't fallen asleep on Kurt's shoulder before."

Mike could see Mercedes deflate at the mention of Kurt and it hit him; she missed Kurt just as much as he used to miss Matt before they grew apart. He decided to cut her some slack.

"I know you miss Kurt and since he left you're being extra protective of Tina but Mercedes, I'm just Santana's friend. Don't take that away from her it's not like she has many in the first place."

"Okay, if you say nothing's going on then nothing is. Just know, Santana and me, we got this thing; she leaves me alone and I leave her alone. But if she hurts my girl Tina Imma beat her ass, yours too." Mercedes warns before leaving the table. Mike sighs; so much for his good mood.

* * *

><p>The ride over to the hospital was a quiet one. Santana was so nervous Mike was afraid she'd bolt from the car if he stopped for too long. It also didn't help that she was making him nervous too.<p>

"Do we have to listen to the radio?" Santana asked after the fifth commercial break.

"I don't have any CDs, do you?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, you don't mind?"

"No go ahead." Mike replied. Maybe if Santana got to listen to her own music it would calm her down. Mike looked over in disbelief when he saw her pull out about five CDs.

"I rode with Brittany this morning. This time I remembered to bring my CDs with me." Santana explained as Mike stopped at a stoplight.

"Oh." He looked over the titles: _Oh Land_, _Fauna_, _Back to Black_, _Funhouse_, and _Sigh No More_. Mike didn't know that she listened to Mumford and Sons. He decided to put _Fauna_ in because it had an interesting cover. The mellow tunes of the first song filled the car and Mike could see Santana relax as the music washed over her.

* * *

><p>If there's one thing that Mike doesn't like it's hospitals; which is ironic given that both his parents work at one. Mike and Santana are currently sitting in the waiting room as they wait for her name to be called.<p>

"I can't believe I'm actually going through with this." Santana says nervously.

Mike looks over and gives her an encouraging smile, "You'll do fine. Just look at this as a chance to finally get answers."

"Yeah that's true. Can you believe that my mom still doesn't believe that I could have a learning disability?" Santana scoffed.

"Why?" Mike asked.

"She thinks that I'm just making an excuse for my laziness. Maybe she doesn't want a defective daughter." Santana replies.

"Don't say that, you are not defective." Mike said sternly. He refused to let Mrs. Lopez continue to make Santana feel worthless. They sat in silence for a few minutes before the office door opened and the doctor looked out.

"Santana Lopez." She called out. Santana looked up and Mike could see her starting to panic.

Mike reached over and grabbed her hand, "You'll be fine."

Santana nodded, "Are you going to be fine waiting for me?"

"Yeah, I'll just head down and see my mom. Text me when you're done." Mike replied. Santana stood up and gave Mike a quick look back before heading into the office. As soon as the door closes Mike gathers his things and heads towards the elevators. It doesn't take long for him to make it towards his mom's office and knock on the open door.

Mrs. Chang looks up and smiles, "Hey what are you doing here?"

"Santana is upstairs getting tested and I'm here for moral support." Mike explained.

"That's today? Her parents didn't bring her?" Mrs. Chang asked.

"Her mom's in denial and I think her dad is working." Mike stated.

"Oh how sad. Well, I guess you're going to be here for a while, do you have any homework?" Mrs. Chang asks.

"Yeah." Mike replies reaching for his bag. The office became silent as they both got to work. Mike was just finishing his last assignment when he received a text from Santana.

"She's done?" Mrs. Chang asks.

"Yeah, she just got done." Mike replied packing his book bag.

"I'm coming with you, just let me send your father a message then we can go." Mrs. Chang said as she picked up her phone. Afterwards Mike and his mother made their way upstairs to meet Santana.

"Hi Mrs. Chang." Santana greets politely.

"Hello Santana how are you?"

"I'm fine."

They continue on in pleasant conversation as they make their way to the car. Mike listened as his mother explained her job to Santana and what she does in human resources. Santana, for her part, looked interested; a vast difference to Tina, who didn't have the courtesy to pay attention or look like she cared.

* * *

><p>The next day Mike had a feeling something big was going to happen today. As the day went by Mike was nearly crawling with anticipation; he could barely concentrate.<p>

"Hello? Where are you?" Santana asked.

"Sorry."

"As I was saying, what in the world do you do when you visit your parents at work?" Santana repeated.

"Talk, do homework, sometimes I give the nurses as bit of eye candy while they work." Mike said nonchalantly.

"Wait what?"

"Yeah you know, knock something down so I can bend over. Sometimes I stretch and show a hint of my abs. Not too much just a bit to help their imaginations." Mike explained. Santana stared at him in shock for a moment before she burst out in laughter.

"Who would've thought you like cougars." Santana giggled.

"No, it's not like that. I mean it's mainly for the candy stripers but the nurses look too." Mike said.

"Wait you're the Asian Greek god that they keep talking about?" Santana asked in disbelief.

"You're a candy striper? Wait….. Asian Greek god?" Mike smiled.

"Yeah yeah. You're ego is so big right now this table is starting to feel crowded." Santana teased and Mike laughed.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Mike and Santana are making their way down the hall towards the choir room.<p>

"Honestly I don't know what's wrong with the woman. I mean we do this elaborate routine and she's still not happy." Santana said.

"You really have bmx riders and fire? That sounds pretty cool." Mike replies.

"Yeah well she's still not happy." Mike was about to reply when Santana suddenly went down and he had to grab her before she hit the ground.

"What the fuck!" Santana yelled as she gripped onto Mike tightly.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked once she was on her feet.

"Yeah, wait is that slushie? Shit! My shoes, Coach Sylvester is going to kill me." Santana said as she inspected her shoes. Mike looked down and saw the biggest pile of slushie he's ever seen; someone got hit bad.

"It's not that bad, just a bit of water and your shoe will be fine."

"I'll see you in glee, I'm going to go clean this off." Santana said as she walked towards the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Mike was in the choir room dancing around with Tina. He did briefly wonder what was taking Mr. Shue so long to arrive.<p>

"No, like this." Tina says pulling off a sequence off steps, effectively pulling Mike from his musings. He started to dance along correctly when he noticed Tina stop and look towards the door in shock.

"Oh my god Artie!" Tina gasps, catching the attention of the entire club.

"It was awful." Artie says slightly dazed as Brittany rushes to his side in worry; the poor boy looked as if he jumped into a pool of slushie.

"That's it screw rehearsal, this ends here and now." Finn says angrily as he jumps up, along with Puck and Sam, and makes towards the door.

"We're going to go all thunder dome on these guys." Puck says excitedly before the group is stopped by the very people they were going to see. The football jocks walk into the choir room, lead by a chubby blonde boy known as Strando.

"So this is what the ladies lounge looks like on the inside." Strando says snidely.

Sam steps forward, "This is the choir room now put up your fists 'cuz you and I are going to do some dancing."

"No I got this Sam." Finn says putting his arm out to stop Sam from advancing further.

Dave Karofsky walks towards the front of the group, "Coach Beiste told us to come here. Where is she?"

"Watch it." Coach Beiste is heard from the back of the group followed by Mr. Shue. "Everyone have a seat."

"You too guys. Alright New Directions, let's give a warm welcome to our newest additions to the glee club." Mr. Shue says calmly.

"What!" Everyone yells out before the room dissolves into chaos. Mike couldn't believe his ears right now; clearly this was all a nightmare. Santana's elbow to his chest as she angrily lunged forward, proved otherwise.

"Hell to the naw Mr. Shue are you serious?" Mercedes yells out over the clutter of angry voices.

"Calm down." Mr. Shue tries to say but is quickly drowned out.

"Hey are you serious, these are the guys that made Kurt transfer." Finn says angrily which only serves to add to everyone's anger.

"There is no way I'm sharing the room with a known homophobe." Rachel says angrily.

"I don't disagree with you guys." Mr. Shue starts and everyone calms down to listen to him. "But I talked to Coach Beiste about it and she and I both agree that the kind of bullying that David does is born out of ignorance. Having him here, difficult as it may be for us, is an opportunity to show him and the rest of the guys that being in glee club is kinda cool. Find some common ground." Mike almost snorts; easy for him to say.

"All of you are going to be in this glee club for one week, no exceptions." Coach Beiste adds, much to the Mike's displeasure.

Karofsky scoffs, "She's bluffing, next week is the championship game; without us she has no team."

"With you I have no team!" She yells. "You guys have to find a way to come together or we're going to get our asses kicked from here to Tuesday gets a saddle full of buckwheat." Mike stares at her in confusion; he should be used to her odd saying by now but they still throw her for a loop.

"If I have to stay I'm not singing no show tunes that is the music of my oppressors." Azimio says breaking the silence. Mike wonders if that means he won't sing any songs by white people. Never mind, the guy just doesn't make any sense.

"Do you even have any idea what we do in here?" Finn asks.

"No, none of them do, we have to show them. Rachel, Puck haven't you been working on something? Why don't you give it a whirl." Mr. Shue says ever optimistic.

Rachel sighs, "Fine, as offended as I am by their presence here, I won't let anything get in the way of a performance.

Mike silently chuckles; same old Rachel Berry. She and Puck head towards the front of the group and perform the song 'Need You Now' and Mike spies a couple of the jocks jamming to the song. The pair finished their song and is met with silence. After a moment the silence is finally broken by Azimio.

"The girl with a Mohawk had a very nice voice." Puck nodded his head and took off his guitar. What happened next, Mike could only describe it as all hell breaking loose as Puck came at Azimio with a raised guitar. This caused everyone else to jump up and the room dissolved into chaos.

* * *

><p>Walking down the hallway with Santana, Mike couldn't help but think that glee was a disaster. He kind of gets what Coach Beiste and Mr. Shue are trying for but this was ridiculous. Why in the world would they think that inviting their bullies to join glee would ever be a good idea?<p>

"This is bullshit! Why in the ever loving fuck did Mr. Shue think this was a good idea? Now we have to sit in the same room with Dave Karofsky, he's the asshole who threatened Kurt and made him leave!" Santana ranted.

"Preaching to the choir right now but at least you gave him a piece of your mind." Mike replied.

"Yeah, I wasn't going to let him get away with doing that without hearing my very explicit opinion on the subject." Santana stated with a smirk. Mike laughed as they headed towards the car.

* * *

><p>The next day they decide to try again. Mike isn't ecstatic about the idea but from the looks of things; he's the most optimistic. As Mike looked around the choir room he noticed that the two groups even sat opposed to each other; jocks vs. gleeks.<p>

"Alright guys listen up." Coach Beiste said as she and Mr. Shue walked into the room; effectively ending all chatter.

"Coach Beiste and I talked and we thought we'd have New Directions perform the half time show during the championship game this year." Mr. Shue started and was greeted with murmurs of excitement from ND and groans from the jocks.

"I thought it would be fun to do a mash up of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's 'Heads Will Roll' and the King of Pop's hit song 'Thriller'." Mr. Shue finished and ND leapt up with excitement.

"Wait you want us to play and perform in our own halftime show?" Karofsky asks.

Santana chuckled, "Awww poor baby. Is it too hard for you? Maybe-"

"Santana!" Mr. Shue interrupted warningly. Santana crossed her arms and glared but stayed silent.

"That's why they developed a handy skill called a 'Quick Change'." Rachel added sarcastically and Mr. Shue turns a warning look towards her too.

"Screw this I don't have to do it." Karofsky said angrily.

"Then you're off the team." Coach Beiste replies coldly. Mike noticed that Karofsky and the others deflated; any fight leaving them after her cold words.

"With that settled, as of right now you're all officially in zombie camp." Mr. Shue says happily.

* * *

><p>Mike had to admit, zombie camp was really fun. It was like dancing but he could do all this weird stuff and it still looked believable. He even had some fun with Santana as the both of them chased Brittany around the stage and pretended to eat her. During their break the group decided to sit down and decide who will do what for the performance; well the gleeks did anyways. The jocks sat around and looked confused.<p>

"So first order of business, who is singing?" Rachel started.

"It's Michael, I have to sing. My voice suits him best out of all the guys." Artie jumped in.

"Hold on hot wheels, who said anything about you being the only one to sing Michael's part? Secondly shouldn't we be trying to get the music before we divide up the parts?" Santana states mater of factly.

Rachel looks over to Finn, "I figured Finn would get the music, he's done so for all our mashups."

Santana stared directly at Finn with an expression that Mike couldn't exactly read, "He can't do that this time. Isn't that right Finn?"

"Right. Santana you can arrange the music this time." Finn says nervously and Santana smirks; what was going on between the two of them?

"Okay…. anyways Santana's getting the music, Artie is tentatively singing 'Thriller' and I'll be showcasing my superior vocal talents as the female lead." Rachel stated, causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"Oh hell no. You're voice doesn't even suit the song. Plus have you even heard it?" Mercedes argued.

"What's going on?" Brandon whispered to Mike quietly.

"They're deciding on who's going to sing." Mike replies.

"But don't you all sing together?" He asked.

"Yeah but we also have lead vocalists. That's what they're fighting over; who's voice is going to be featured on the song." Mike explains.

"Maybe Lopez should sing, I liked her runs on that Britney Spears song you guys did." Brandon suggests quietly and it gives Mike an idea.

"Hey Rachel?" Mike says interrupting the current argument.

"Yes Mike."

"As team captain, won't you be too busy making sure our newest members will be able to give a good performance to be able to properly play lead?" Mike asked innocently; he could see Santana silently chuckling behind Rachel's back.

"You're absolutely right. I can't believe that escaped my mind." Rachel jumped up and stared determinedly at the jocks.

"Would our newest members kindly follow me, your vocal lessons begin now." Rachel states with a smile. Mike could see that they wanted to argue but Coach Beiste silently stood behind Rachel with her arms folded and they obeyed.

"Now that she's out of the way I propose that I sing lead." Santana says.

"And why should you get to sing" Mercedes asks.

"Well who else can pull it off? Quinn's voice is too soft, your voice is too powerful, and Brittany…." Santana trailed off looking at Brittany expectantly.

"I'm doing make up, Quinn you can help." Brittany states calmly and Quinn nods.

"Right and Tina what are you doing?" Santana asked.

"Well I'm doing the costumes, unless someone else has connections with the fashion department?" Tina asked and everyone shook their head in the negative.

"So me and Artie are singing. Now that that is settled, how about that choreography."Santana replied.

* * *

><p>"So tell me again why we're driving to some guy's house?" Mike asked as he drove to an unknown location.<p>

"His name is Neal and he's the one who does the mash ups, for a price." Santana replies as they pull up in front of the house.

"Wait so Finn doesn't actually get the music?" Mike asked.

"No, he comes to me and I go to Neal." Santana explains and Mike nods. But what did she mean by 'for a price'? They got out of the car and knocked on the door. After a few moments of no answer, Santana pulls out her cell phone.

"Neal open up the fucking door! I know you're in there and it's cold outside." Santana says before hanging up.

"I thought we were working on being nicer." Mike stated calmly.

"Rome wasn't built in a day." Santana replied just as calm. They don't have to wait very long before the door opens to reveal a half asleep Neal. Mike recognized him as the school's marching band leader.

"You two know each other?" Mike asked and Santana nods.

"I was asleep you know." Neal says as he yawns, glaring at Santana.

"You can sleep later, let us in it's cold." Santana replies as she shivers. Neal moves and allows them to enter the house.

"So what can I do for you?" Neal asks once their seated around the kitchen table. Mike catches him eyeing Santana's chest and clears his throat. Neal looks at him in annoyance; Mike got major creeper vibes from this guy, he didn't like it.

"We need a mash up; 'Thriller' and 'Heads Will Roll'. I already emailed you the songs." Santana said.

"Another one? You guys do a lot of these mash ups, what do I get out of it?" Neal asked licking his lips. He eyes Santana up and down and Mike sees her shift uncomfortably. Mike sat up straighter in his chair and glared at Neal; he got the hint and backed off. Why did Santana know this guy? Seriously, if he didn't stop Mike might have to have a 'talk' with Neal. He now knows what Santana meant by her 'for a price' statement from earlier.

"Look this isn't just some glee club thing. This is for the half time entertainment during the championship game. College recruiters are going to be there and if your band plays maybe you could get some recognition." Santana states and that seems to get Neal's attention.

"You're right this could be very beneficial to me. You'll have it by Monday. I could have it to you by Saturday if we could talk upstairs." Neal says and takes a quick glance at Mike and adds, "Privately."

Mike has officially lost his patience with this guy and before he knows it an animalistic growl leaves his mouth and he stands up so fast his chair falls back. He rushes forward towards a frightened Neal and grabs him by the shirt and lifts him out of his chair. Mike slams him into the refrigerator behind them.

"Mike stop!" Santana says behind him. Mike doesn't really care; this guy really needs to be taught a lesson.

"Look, I'm sorry." Neal cowers.

"No you're not, I'd given you plenty of chances to back off and you didn't. Now I'm only going to say this once; have that song done first thing Monday morning or so help me I will make you regret being the disgusting piece of human being that you are." Mike says angrily before unceremoniously dropping Neal to the ground. Mike turns away and starts to head towards the door and Santana follows. They sit in silence for a few minutes as Mike drives towards Santana's house.

"Thanks for sticking up for me. That guys still somewhat creeps me out." Santana said breaking the silence.

"You're welcome but I don't want you going to his house alone anymore. Where the fuck does he get off treating you like some sort of whore?" Mike says angrily.

"I'm used to it." Santana replies.

"But you shouldn't be." Mike counters and Santana falls silent.

* * *

><p>Mike walks into Santana's room and crashes on her bed; he couldn't believe how soft it was. Mike started to relax; the drive had given him a chance to calm down after his confrontation with Neal.<p>

"Move lazy ass, it's my bed." Santana says from the doorway.

"But I'm your guest." Mike whines as he moves to sit up.

Santana chuckles, "Fine but I'll remember that the next time I'm at your house."

Mike sighs and stretches his muscles and eyes Santana's pillows. "Don't even think about it."

"What are you doing this weekend?" Mike asks, trying to change the subject.

"Volunteering at the hospital, then I have cheerio practice because Regionals are coming up." Santana says; Mike can tell that something is bothering her.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"There's so much shit, I can't…" Santana trails off and sits next to him on the bed. "Coach wants to shoot Brittany out of a fucking canon."

"What?" Mike said shocked; did he hear that correctly?

Santana nodded, "And if that wasn't bad enough, she wants us to quit glee and only be cheerios. She even moved up our competition date so that we couldn't possibly do both. Then this thing with my mom…" Santana says before trailing off and rapidly blink back tears. Her mom? What in the world was going on?

"What's going on with your mom?" Mike asks softly and Santana stays silent for so long he starts to believe she won't answer.

"She's cheating on my dad." Santana blurts out and starts to cry.

Mike stares at her, "What?"

"She's cheating on him. What's worse is that I walked in on them one night." Santana manages to say through her tears. Mike thinks back to that night two weeks ago when Santana mysteriously called him in tears; his heart breaks.

"Is that when you called me?" Mike asked and Santana nodded.

"I didn't know what else to do." She replied sadly and Mike, at a loss on what to say, just held her.

* * *

><p>Friday was a gloomy day; not just because of his mood, it was actually gloomy outside today. Mike had spent an hour trying to calm Santana down yesterday. If she wasn't crying over various scenarios of Brittany's death, she was crying over how her parent's marriage would be destroyed if her father ever found out about her mother's infidelity. It hurt to see Santana like that and he hates Mrs. Lopez a little more for making Santana feel like that. Walking down the hall Mike sees Santana staring sadly at her locker.<p>

"Hi." Mike greets tentatively.

"Hi." Santana replies; she hasn't stopped staring at her lock and Mike is slightly hesitant on how to react. It doesn't take long for Santana to sigh in defeat and turn around. Now that Mike can fully see her face, he notices how puffy her eyes are.

"I can't concentrate today. I mean I like being on the squad but Coach has been so unbearable lately I don't mind quitting but Brittany…..I can't leave her." Santana says quietly.

"It'll be okay, Brittany likes glee. I'm sure she'll choose to stay." Mike replies trying to be optimistic. He reaches over and quickly opens her locker.

Santana looks at him in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Brittany." Mike says simply and Santana nods.

"Thank you." The bell rings and they go their separate ways.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was uneventful and Mike had a hard time even remembering what happened; he does remember a few paper ball fights but the classes were so boring he blanked out. Glee was taken up by another zombie camp practice. Mike could actually see some people improving, so this idea wasn't completely bust.<p>

"I can't believe I don't even get to sing." Rachel complained to Mike and Artie for the eighth time in five minutes.

"Alright, shit! You can harmonize with me during the song if it will get you to shut the hell up!" Artie snapped, catching the attention of everyone else. Mike had barely managed to hold in a laugh.

"Thank you." Rachel smiled. "Santana what's taking so long on the music? We're losing out on valuable practice time; this is why Finn should have gotten the music."

"First off dwarf, this isn't like getting a song off of itunes and downloading it. Two completely different songs have to be put together to make one song, so it's going to take some time. Secondly, Finnocence over there would've just came to me to get the music like he usually does since I'm the one with the connections." Santana replies, much to the embarrassment of Finn. Mike glowers at the vague mention of Neal.

"The fastest I can get it is on Monday so unless you can do better sit down and shut the hell up." Santana finishes and practice continues as usual. On his way out of the auditorium Mike is stopped by Finn and, surprisingly, Dave Karofsky.

"Hey Mike we were thinking of performing a song; just us guys." Finn stated.

"To boost morale. You in?" Dave adds.

Mike shrugs, "Sure, I'll help out."

* * *

><p>Monday morning Mike pulls into Santana's driveway and watches as she happily skips to the car. Mike can't help but laugh at her antics, it's a nice change of pace to see her this happy.<p>

"Look at what was emailed to me this last night." Santana said excitedly as she held up an unmarked CD.

"What is it?" Mike asks as Santana plays the CD.

As the song starts Mike's eyes widen, "Is this?"

"Yup that's the song. Completed and ready for us to practice." Santana says happily.

"This sounds amazing." Mike replies getting excited.

* * *

><p>Mike walks down the hallway towards the choir room tiredly. Doing glee, football practice, practicing with the guys on their song, and dealing with in fighting between the gleeks and the jocks is starting to wear him down. Mike was slightly nervous how things would turn out when they had to actually sing. Mike walks into the choir room to see Santana standing in front of everyone next to a CD player.<p>

"What's going on?" Mike asks her quietly.

"I'm just waiting for everyone to arrive so I can play the song." Santana replies.

"So you're staying?" Mike whispers.

Santana sighs, "I don't know. Sue's trying really hard to convince Brittany to stay. I think she knows that if she stays I stay."

Mr. Shue and Coach Beiste walk into the room and start the meeting. After they listen to the song everyone gets down to business so they can put on a good show.

The next day Mike is making his way towards the cafeteria when he sees Brittany angrily putting things into her locker. Mike was thrown off guard; he's never seen Brittany get angry.

"Brittany? Are you okay?" Mike asks cautiously.

Brittany sighed before facing him, "No, we're going to have to quit glee."

"What? Why?" Mike asked.

"Coach Sylvester knows about Santana and I. I knew those after practice hook ups in the locker room would come back to haunt us." Brittany sighs.

"So she's threatening to out you guys? Mike asks concerned.

"I don't know. I mean I don't care if people know about me being bisexual but Santana would be devastated. I don't want to risk it." Brittany replies sadly. Mike felt bad for her; he could tell Brittany didn't want to quit glee.

"It's okay, I get it. You want to protect Santana but Brittany, be careful. Don't let that crazy woman shoot you out of a canon. Mike says.

Brittany nods, "I'm really sorry Mike."

"Don't be. I guess we'll just find another way to hang out with each other." He replies causing Brittany to smile.

* * *

><p>"It figures they would do something like this. Threaten their precious popularity and they drop us like a hot potato." Rachel rants. Mike can't help but sigh at Rachel's hypocrisy; how many times did she quit or storm out when she didn't get her way?<p>

"Quinn and Santana I expect it from but Brittany? That' a low blow." Tina adds and Mike frowns.

"Please, we all know it was Santana who put her up to it. I just don't understand why Brittany can't see how manipulative she is." Artie said angrily with many others agreeing. Mike decides that now it the time to step in and set them straight.

"Actually Santana left the decision up to Brittany and if anyone is being manipulative, it's Sue Sylvester." Mike interrupted.

Artie huffed, "Yeah but-"

"Don't condemn them for their choices when you don't even know why they made them." Mike argued.

"That's enough about that." Mr. Shue said, ending the argument. "Guys, you had something you wanted to perform?" Mike and the others take their positions on stage and get ready to perform their song.

* * *

><p>Mike's feeling pretty good about their performance; he feels like he's finally apart of a team. They were amazing up on that stage and even with his limited vocal abilities, Mike sang his hardest. They're walking down the hall, as a team, together, in full zombie make-up without a care in the world; Mike never thought he would see the day. All of this was short-lived however, as the hockey team took it upon themselves to 'right the social order' and slushie them.<p>

It hurts; he feels like he just got smacked with a wall of ice. Then the burning set in and Mike isn't sure what feels worse; the initial shock and pain or the persistent burning in his eyes. He blindly makes his way to the nearest bathroom to rinse his eyes out.

* * *

><p>"Good lord they actually slushied you?" Santana asked in concern as they made their way home.<p>

"Yeah, it was bad. Even worse, the guys quit both football and glee. The girls did offer to help but they don't know anything about football and the game's this Friday. I don't know what Coach is going to do." Mike explained sadly.

"I'm sure you and the others will work something out." Santana replied.

"What about you? How is being in the cheerios full time?" Mike asked.

Santana sighs, "It's horrible, Sue's hell bent on her crazy plan and Finn's trying to convince Quinn and Brittany to come back."

Mike raises an eyebrow, "Not you?"

"I guess he doesn't give a shit whether or not I come back. That or he figures I'll follow Brittany, which is true." Santana shrugs.

* * *

><p>It's Friday, game day, and Mike sits nervously in the locker room. Finn's ran off to try one last time to get Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. Puck's gone off to get the team back together and the girls are gearing up to play. Mike doesn't like it, he doesn't like it one bit. He tries not to think about the two hundred pound monsters that will be barreling towards his girlfriend; he fails.<p>

"I think I'm going to be sick." Mike mumbles and Sam turns towards him.

"It's not that bad, just hold it together." Sam replies.

"How would you feel if you knew some two hundred pound guy out for blood was going to be running full throttle at Quinn?" Mike snaps and he sees Sam's face ashen at the thought.

"Shit." Sam gasps out.

"Exactly." Mike replies, taking a deep breath so as to not hyperventilate.

* * *

><p>They go through with the game and for the most part it works. Finn is back and managed to convince the girls to quit cheerios which makes him happy; now he just hopes Puck comes through. So far the girls have managed to not get hurt and Lauren's been holding her own, not that Mike expected differently.<p>

The next play was set up and instead of falling to the ground like she was supposed to, Tina caught the ball and started to run. Mike's heart leapt into his throat as he watch helplessly as the opposing player tackled her to the ground. Mike felt as if he was punched in the gut and he could've sworn that his heart stopped. Everything was quiet and Mike ran faster than he's ever done to reach her.

"Tina are you okay?" Mike asks full of concern, careful not to shake her in case she's really hurt.

"Yeah I'm okay." Tina says softly, clearly shaken. Mike pulls her up and that ends the first half.

"You're so taking me out tomorrow." Tina says causing Mike to chuckle.

They win the championship game, much to everyone's surprise and it's the greatest feeling on earth to hold that championship trophy and call it their own. Mike's just happy he got to share that moment with all the people he cares about.

* * *

><p>Mike can't believe how eventful the last two weeks have been but none of that matters now because he has his date with Tina to think about. As he waits for her in front of her house Mike can't help but get a little giddy. When she appeared Mike was struck dumb at how beautiful Tina looked; he felt like the luckiest guy on earth.<p>

"Wow, you look beautiful." Mike says as Tina gets in the car.

"Thanks." Tina giggles and it doesn't take long for them to make it to the bowling alley and get a lane.

"So what made you decide on bowling?" Tina asked as she lined up her shot. She threw the ball and only managed to knock down three pins.

"I always have fun when my uncles and I go bowling, so I thought it would be a fun way to spend time with you." Mike replies.

"Oh. I'm not going to lie, when you said date I imagined a dinner at a restaurant but I love this." Tina says as he picks up his bowling ball.

Mike smiles, "That's afterwards."

"Sneaky."

They go a few more turns and Mike is happy that the game is almost over (with him winning by five points) because Tina is getting bored. He glances back and catches her playing on her phone.

"What are you looking at?" Mike asks as he lines up his shot.

"People have been putting up photos of the game on facebook. I'm a little behind because I'm mostly on twitter. You've been tagged in a lot of them." Tina giggles out. Mike throws his ball, managing to get a strike and winning the game, when he notices how silent Tina is. He turns around to see her staring angrily at her phone.

"What the fuck is this?" She asks angrily and Mike winces. This is the angriest he's ever seen her.

"What-"

"Don't play dumb! Friends do not sit like this!" Tina almost shouts, angrily thrusting her phone into Mike's hands. He looks down and studies the photo in question. It's a picture of him and Santana on the bus ride home from the game before last. Apparently someone took a picture of them after they fell asleep and with the way Santana was cuddling his arm, well, Mike didn't realize that his hand was between her legs. It was made worse by the fact that Santana's face was buried in the crook of his neck and his face was turned towards her, as he rested his head on hers, with his eyes closed. If Mike didn't know for a fact that they were asleep he would've thought that they got caught in a moment of passion. No wonder Tina was upset.

"Tina I can explain-"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" Tina yells, catching the attention of the group in the lane next to them. "Take me home."

"But-" Mike tries but Tina grabs her things and heads for the door. The ride to Tina's house was silent and tense.

"Tina I can explain." Mike said breaking the silence.

"Explain what? Why you two were snuggled up together? Why people are commenting on you guys being such a cute couple? Or maybe you'd like to explain how your hand ended up in between her legs?" Tina ranted.

"I know it looks bad but we were asleep! How can you get angry about where my hand was when I wasn't even conscious?" Mike asked finally getting angry.

"And your hand just magically gained a mind of its own and decided to search in between her legs? You had to have put it there when you were awake. Can't you see that Santana is just trying to get in between us?" Tina yells.

"She's not! We're just friends why do I have to keep repeating this fact?" Mike yells back.

"You didn't deny putting your hand between her legs. So I guess you figured you could get some after game booty on the bus before you came over to my house! She's nothing but boyfriend stealing whore!

"We haven't slept together! Don't talk about her like that you don't even know her!" Mike yelled as he pulled in front of her house and put the car in park.

Tina chuckles bitterly, "There you go defending her again; you're always standing up for her. If everyone thinks the two of you are fucking then chances are the both of you are. Everyone knows Santana doesn't know the meaning of keeping her legs closed. I hope you have fun fucking you 'friend' because we're through!" Tina yells angrily before exiting the car and slamming the door. Mike watches as Tina enters her house before her words fully hit him; she just broke up with him. He feels his heart shatter into a thousand pieces and Mike blinks back tears as he makes his way home.

* * *

><p>By the time Mike makes his way home he's completely numb. He looks at his phone and realizes that he has notices. Mike silently boots up his computer and checks facebook. The first thing he notices is that Tina has changed her relationship status to 'single'. It makes the entire night more real and Mike's chest tightens. He decides that if Tina has already announced their breakup he should change his status too. His hands shake as he changes his status from 'in relationship' to 'single' and when it's done; Mike puts his head down on his desk. His chest hurts and he feels as if he can't breathe. Not two minutes after he changes his status does his phone ring. Without looking over Mike grabs his phone and answers.<p>

"Hello?" Mike says hoarsely and he clears his throat.

"Mike I just saw. What the hell happened?" Santana asked her voice full of concern. Mike wants to be angry and blame her for all his relationship troubles but he can't; Santana didn't do anything wrong. He can't punish her for being his friend when he was the one who sought out her friendship in the first place.

"Tina-" Mike started but his voice cracks and he clears his throat. "She broke up with me."

Mike hears Santana gasp and someone speak in the background and her mumbled reply, "Mike-"

"I'm sorry Santana but I don't really feel like talking right now." Mike interrupts before hanging up.

Mike lies in his bed, with his back towards the door and stares at nothing. His mother has tried multiple times to comfort him but Mike didn't respond; he just kept replaying the night over in his head. Mike doesn't know how long he's laid there (long enough for his computer to hibernate) before he hears someone enter the room; it's probably just his mother trying to comfort him again. Mike continues to lay still but become confused as he listens to his visitor move around the room. When he feels the bed dip Mike finally turns around and finds himself face to face with Santana.

Mike looks at the concern written on her face and frowns in confusion, "Santana?"

"Shhh, come here." Santana says softly as she pulls him into a hug. Mike lays there, halfway on top of Santana with his face buried in the crook of her neck, as she rubs his back in comfort.

"I'm here." Santana whispers, her voice loud in the silent room, and Mike finally breaks down and cries.

* * *

><p><strong>Why yes, I am evil. Also, some maybe confused as to why this episode chapter came before the Christmas one. Well, Glee messed up and high school football season is finished sometime around late November early December depending on whether they make it to the Championship (according to google). Now, I had always planned to break Tike up, I just debated with myself from the beginning as to when to do it but I was half asleep one night and thought this would be the perfect way to end the chapter. We also get a glimpse into how guys really treat Santana and Mike's protective nature for those he cares about. I'm working on the next chapter now and will try to get it up soon so that I can be back on track. Off to fix more plot holes, until next time.<strong>


	7. A Very Glee Christmas

**Hey guess who's back from the living dead. Actually I've been busy; essays and projects galore (I swear college is only fun sometimes) and I had to write a radio drama for my audio production class so all of my creative talent went towards that. But I've been busy today to make up for it, that's right, I've managed to write two whole chapters today. Yay me. I'm sorry if I got a few things wrong detail wise but I refuse to watch this episode again. I can't do it. So, for those of you who have read this little author's note, thank you and enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Mike awoke sometime in the early hours of the morning and stared blankly at the ceiling. Santana laid sound asleep cuddled into his side. No matter how hard he tried to clear his mind, thoughts of Tina continued to haunt him. What if things had played out differently? What if he had checked facebook earlier and had them take the picture down? What if Tina had never checked her phone? Who checks facebook during a date? Maybe he should've taken her to dinner only instead of trying to go bowling first. What could he have done differently to prove that she was the only girl for him? Why did she have to have such a problem with him being friends with Santana?<p>

Santana shifted closer and sighed contently, "Mmm….Britt…."

Mike blinked; at least someone was having pleasant thoughts. Mike looked to Santana and saw how peaceful she looked; a hint of a smile on her face. It must nice; Mike wishes he was asleep and oblivious to all the pain he's in right now. For now he just stares back at the ceiling and sighs as various 'what ifs' play in his head. Sleep continues to elude him and Mike spends his time slowly watching as the sun rises and lightens up his room. It isn't much longer before Mike feels Santana shift and slowly start to waken.

"Morning."

Santana sits up and looks down at him, "Hey, how long have you been awake?"

"I don't know really, before the sun came up." Mike replied dully.

"Oh, ummm… I'm gonna go to the bathroom okay?" Santana says as she stands up and heads towards the door. Mike doesn't reply, instead he chooses to turn towards the wall and stare blankly at it. He just can't seem to find the energy to do anything or care right now. He hears Santana sigh before walking out of the room. Mike was in the middle of replaying the argument over in his head when he hears Santana return.

"You're mom is downstairs starting breakfast." Santana states quietly and Mike just nods; he's not hungry. There's an awkward silence and Mike feels bad for taking things out on Santana but he's just not really in the mood; he just wants to wake up and see that this has all been a horrible nightmare.

"You know, I always hear Puck and Finn talk about those X-box thingies. Is this one of them?" Santana asks out of the blue and Mike freezes; she did not just call his playstation 3 a X-box _thingy_. It was an insult and Mike didn't know whether to feel offended or not.

"It's a playstation 3." He quickly corrects her as he turns to face her.

"Never heard of it." Santana replies blankly and pops up out of bed.

"How in the world have you heard of an X-box but never heard of a playstation?" Mike asks incredulously.

Santana shrugs, "I don't play games."

Mike narrowed his eyes; that would never do, he had to fix this. It was an embarrassment; no friend of his would be so completely clueless that they couldn't even correctly identify a game console on sight.

"You have so much to learn, I don't even think there are enough hours in the day…." Mike trailed off as he shook his head.

"Look, are you going to play a game or continue to sit there and stare at me in shock?" Santana huffed as she folded her arms.

"Fine." He may as well just dive right in; nothing better than a crash course in video gaming.

"One question before you start: Do you have anything Disney?" Santana asks randomly.

"….Actually I do." Mike replies before he searches his game library and pulls out _Kingdom Hearts_.

As soon as the opening begins Mike watches as Santana is immediately captivated. Mike turned back to the TV and watched along; just watching brought back memories of how amazing the game was, still is. The song shooting tingles all throughout his body and maybe it was a bit bittersweet as some lyrics brought back the pain of his recent breakup. Mike cleared his thoughts of that and focused on the game as it began.

It wasn't until later, after countless hordes of heartless, Santana screaming at him to beat that orange haired Jamaican wannabe (he did try to correct her about the accent but she didn't listen), and his mother interrupting them to say breakfast was ready, that Mike realized that Santana had successfully distracted him from thinking of Tina for longer than five minutes; it brought a small smile to his face as he at breakfast and watched Santana animatedly tell his parents about 'this awesome game' he just showed her. It was times like this that made Mike wonder if this is what having a sibling felt like.

* * *

><p>Monday was gloomy and looked as if it would rain that day. Mike didn't mind, it fit his mood perfectly; why should the sun be shining when he was feeling the way he was. It was like he couldn't escape her; Tina was always haunting his thoughts. To make things worse, he kept seeing her all day. Mike was just grateful that he didn't have the same lunch period as her and stared gloomily at his nachos.<p>

"Goodness, I leave you for one day…" Santana sighed as she sat down.

"Sorry for being depressed, I only got my heart broken by the girl that I love." Mike snapped; maybe Santana was starting to rub off on him.

"Don't snap. Tina is going to realize what she lost and seriously regret it. Honestly, only someone crazy would let a guy like you go. I wouldn't be surprised if girls start lining up to have a chance with you." Santana tried to comfort.

"But I don't want a rebound." Mike groaned, "Tina she was special, we shared our first time together. I can't just get over her by dating someone else. I'm just going to sit and listen to break up songs and continue to hope this is some sick nightmare. I mean Taylor Swift has some good songs."

"You've been listening to Taylor Swift? Holy sweet hell this is worse than I thought." Santana replied. Mike looked up to glare at her but saw Mercedes angrily make her way to their table. Mike sighed; he really did not feel like dealing with whatever drama she was going to bring.

"How could you? Mercedes started.

"Back off Wheezy or Imma go all Lima Heights." Santana warned angrily.

"Back off home wrecker because of you two Tina's been crying all weekend, I can't believe you would just break her heart like that!" Mercedes ranted.

"That's rich considering that b-" Santana stopped and glanced towards Mike, "Look, girl Chang broke up with Mike, she broke his heart and I've been doing what I can to keep said heart from shattering all over the place. So I really don't care about her feelings right now."

"Whatever, just stay away. The both of you have done enough damage." Mercedes said before storming off.

* * *

><p>Glee was tense; super tense and super awkward. It seems as if everyone has taken Tina's side in this break up. With the exception of Brittany, who glanced back in concern every now and again. The first thing Mike noticed was how secluded he and Santana were from the group; there was literally a very noticeable gap between them and the rest of New Directions. Mr. Shue walked into the room ready to start the meeting.<p>

"Alright guys winter break is coming up in two weeks and to get us into the festive mood I thought we could decorate the choir room. I even managed to get us a Christmas tree." He said and people started to get excited. Mike could see Brittany literally bouncing in her seat.

"But Mr. Shue Rachel and I are Jewish." Puck added.

"Oh right, well I guess we don't have to."Mr. Shue amended.

"Does this mean we don't get to decorate the tree?" Brittany asked as she pouted. Puck and Rachel made the mistake of looking in her direction and it didn't take long for them to give in.

"It's fine, I wouldn't want to take away from everyone else enjoying their holiday." Rachel said while Puck nodded in agreement and smiled once Brittany hopped up and clapped happily.

"Now that that's settled, boys help put up the tree and we're going to need some decorations. I was also thinking that we could help spread Christmas cheer and practice at the same time by caroling around the school." Mr. Shue continued and Brittany was the only one to seem truly excited by the idea.

* * *

><p>When Mike gets home later that afternoon he notices the front room covered in boxes. He carefully made his way through the house, careful to not knock over anything, as he went to go set his stuff down. Returning to the front room Mike noticed his mother walking in and carrying a large box.<p>

"Oh Mike you're home. Good, help me with this box." Mrs. Chang says and Mike rushes over to grab the box from her hands.

"What is all this stuff?" Mike asks as he sets the box down next to the others.

"I had some free time so I decided to get started on putting up the Christmas decorations."

"So is this all the decorations?" Mike asked as he looks around.

"Yes, I just need you to get the tree and then we can start." Mrs. Chang replies.

"Ok." Mike says as he makes his way into the basement to get the tree. By the time he manages to get all the pieces upstairs and into the front room, Mike sees that his mother has already opened boxes and started putting decorations up around the room. Right now she was currently putting up a mistletoe; Mike grinned as an idea struck him.

* * *

><p>The next day Mike yawned as he waited outside of Santana's house. He tiredly closed his eyes for a brief moment before he heard Santana exit her house and make her way towards the car. Looking up Mike sees her struggling with a box full of decorations and hurries over to help he put the box into the trunk.<p>

"What's with the decorations?" Mike asks as he closes the trunk.

"Mr. Shue said we needed decorations for the tree right? Here they are." Santana said nonchalantly.

"You're parents don't mind?" Mike asks.

"I doubt they'll even notice that these are missing." Santana replies as they get into the car and make their way to school.

"Well, at least Brittany will be happy."

"Exactly." Santana smiled.

Mike and Santana walked into school and started to head toward the choir room to place the decorations before class. Mike was caught completely off guard when Santana quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the lockers. Mike looked over into the direction they were heading and saw that they were heading towards Brittany and Mike immediately understood what was happening; Santana was doing anything she could to get Brittany's attention.

"Hey Britt Britt." Santana greeted happily.

Brittany turns to Santana and smiles, "Hey, Santana." She then notices him, "Oh, hi Mike, what's in the box?"

"Decorations for the tree." Santana replies, drawing Brittany's attention back to her. Brittany's face lights up.

"We get to decorate the tree today?" Brittany asks and when Santana nods, she squeals and jumps up and down excitedly before giving Santana a crushing hug. Santana smiles and holds Brittany as close to her a physically possible while Brittany chatters excitedly about how much fun glee will be today. Mike can't help but smile at how happy Brittany is but it's dampened as he notices how starved they are for physical contact with one another.

"I'm going to go put these into the choir room." Mike says but is largely ignored by the two as they're wrapped up in their own little world, "Hey, do you two want to hang out at my house after glee today? I've got something I want to show you."

This seems to catch their attention as they separate and Brittany nods in his direction, "Sure, I can't wait."

Mike smiles before leaving them to put the decorations up and headed to class. While sitting in class, Mike wondered how he would be able to get through the holiday season full of happy people when he himself was so down about not spending time with Tina. He was so excited to have a special someone to call on Christmas morning and wish them a happy holidays. Sure, he put up a good front and spending time with his friends distracted him but it was the time when he was alone that was the worse; he couldn't seem to get his mind to stay away from depressing thoughts.

* * *

><p>Glee today wasn't nearly as bad as Mike thought it would be; it started out awkwardly but Brittany quickly managed to get everyone into decorating the tree and soon they were happily singing and dancing around the room. They even managed to get over the disaster that was their caroling idea; what kind of teacher throws a shoe at students. Mike chuckled as he moved around the room because Brittany even managed to get Santana to be civil to Artie.<p>

"Hey this looks amazing." Mr. Shue said as he walked into the room. Everyone smiled and various people murmured in agreement. Mike continued to look though the direcorations before he was waved over by Artie. Once everyone but Brittany was gathered over Artie opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey, where's Santana?" Mike asked before he could get a word out.

"Who cares." Tina grumbled angrily from across from the group; Mike just stared at her.

"Guys, this is important Brittany still believes in Santa Claus." Artie says quietly and it catches everyone's attention.

"You can't be serious." Lauren says from her spot next to Puck.

"It's true. I was thinking that we could go to see a mall Santa. I think it would really brighten her day, a sort of club bonding experience." Artie continued and managed to get everyone to agree to meet up. Mike silently shook his head as he watch Artie wheel over to the tree where Brittany was and tell her of their plan.

Santana slowly walks over to where Mike is sitting, "What did I miss?"

"We're going to the mall after school, to see a mall Santa." Mike replies and Santana looks at him in confusion.

"Why?" She asks.

"Apparently Brittany still believes in Santa. Artie thinks that it would a good club bonding experience to take her to see Santa, make her day." Mike explains and Santana sighs.

"I get a bad feeling about this." Santana says.

"Brittany doesn't really believe in Santa right?" Mike asks.

"Brittany believes in the spirit of Christmas, one who takes the physical form of Santa Claus, you know like in the movies. Not that I would ever tell Britt what she should and shouldn't believe in, but even if I tried, how does one prove that a spirit doesn't exist? That all those miracles aren't really miracles, they're just luck and coincidence? So, all I do is make my yearly Christmas list and politely ask her about what she asked for and keep it at that." Santana explains and Mike nods; it actually made sense to some degree.

"Well, if you guys are still up for it we could still hang out at mine afterwards." Mike says.

"Yeah, of course."

* * *

><p>Mike can't believe that they're actually going through with this; they're the only teenagers without children in line to see a mall Santa. At least Brittany looks excited but Mike wonders how life could be so cruel as to put him next to Tina; it made the entire trip very awkward.<p>

"How are you?" Mike tentatively asked.

Tina sighed, "I don't want to get into this. I'm just here for Brittany."

"All I asked was a simple question." Mike replied.

"I'm heartbroken and it doesn't help that you sit there and flaunt your relationship with Santana in front of my face. I heard you making plans for her to come over tonight. You guys didn't even wait before getting together." Tina ranted quietly.

"Santana and I are not together; this relationship between the two of us is all in your head. If I still had a girlfriend I would be making plans to be with her but seeing as I don't I've made plans with my friends." Mike snapped back and Tina glared at him.

"Friends or just Santana?"

"Santana and Brittany but I don't see why that's any business of yours. You broke up with me so you don't get to get upset at who I invite over my house." Mike said. Tina's reply is cut off when it's time for Mike to tell 'Santa' what he wants for Christmas.

"I want Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff." Mike says before he quickly get off of Santa's lap; it was really awkward sitting on a grown man's lap. Mike gets up and quickly moves to stand over by Santana; who looked noticeably upset.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"That creepy ass Santa got an erection when I sat on his lap. I'm trying to not throw up right now." Santana says and Mike notices that she's actually pretty pale.

"Should we be looking for a bathroom or…?" Mike trails off.

"No, I think I'm good. I might have nightmares but I'll deal." Santana replied as she swallowed heavily.

Brittany flounced over and smiled brightly at them, "Isn't this awesome, everyone is hanging out together. I bet this is the work of the Christmas spirit."Mike just smiled and nodded in return; he really didn't have the heart to ruin her day.

Mike watches as Brittany finally takes her turn on Santa's lap; he feels Santana tense next to him and looks worriedly at Brittany. After her experience just a few minutes ago, he really doesn't blame her.

"For Christmas, all I want is for my boyfriend to walk." Brittany says and everyone freezes; their fate is sealed when the guys tells Brittany that he'll get right on it.

"Now we're screwed." Artie says sadly and Mike hears Santana quietly mutter "Serves you right, idiot."

* * *

><p>Mike, Santana, and Brittany are sitting in the front room as he shows Brittany all of the various decorations the he and his mother managed to put up yesterday. Mike carefully maneuvered them around the dining room before he walked through the doorway and abruptly stopped.<p>

"Why'd you stop? I thought we were going back into the front room?" Brittany asked and Mike smirked at them before pointing up. Brittany looked up before gasping which caused Santana to look up.

"Got ya." Mike said simply.

"You planned this?" Santana asked.

"Merry Christmas." Mike shrugged and he watched as Santana desperately tried to hide her smile.

"But what about Artie?" Brittany asked and Santana started to frown.

"It's cool, you're under mistletoe and it's like the rules that you have to kiss the person you're caught under it with. Artie really can't say anything in this case." Mike said.

Brittany smiled, "Thanks for giving me an out Mike."

Brittany turned to Santana and cupped her face before she moved in and caught her lips with her own. Mike could hear Santana whimper and reach behind and grab Brittany's neck as she deepened the kiss. At this point it became a bit awkward for Mike to keep watching and he turned to give them a bit of privacy. He froze and his eyes widened in shock when he noticed his parents watching the scene in front of them in surprise; he didn't know how to react and apparently his parent didn't either. Quickly glancing behind him Mike sees that Santana and Brittany's kiss has really heated up and they're now basically dry humping each other. Mike turns back around but his parents have disappeared and Mike makes the quick decision to put a stop to things before they end up having sex in his front room.

"Hey, I don't think the mistletoe covers dry humping." Mike coughs out and they quickly separate; embarrassment evident on their face.

"Oh it looks like we have company. Hello girls." Mrs. Chang says as if she didn't just see Santana and Brittany making out in her house. If she wasn't going to say anything then he wouldn't either; Mike can't even think of how Santana would react if she knew.

"Hey mom, this is my friend Brittany." Mike introduces and Brittany waves from next to him.

"It's nice to meet you Brittany. If you girls don't mind staying for a while I was planning on making Christmas sugar cookies, I wouldn't mind help." Mrs. Chang says with a smile and Brittany looks excited.

"I'll just check with my parents and see if it's alright." Brittany says before she runs off to her bag and Santana does the same. Once they were out of ear shot Mike turned to his mom.

"Mom, I can explain." Mike started.

"What's there to explain? Santana and Brittany clearly have more than platonic feelings for each other." Mrs. Chang says simply.

"You and dad okay with that?" Mike asks nervously.

"While I'll admit coming home to that was a shock, I don't have an issue with gay people." She replies and Mike sighs in relief.

"Good, I don't think Santana would handle rejection very well right now."

"Don't worry, your father and I will pretend we didn't see anything. We'll wait until she's ready to tell us." Mrs. Chang says before Brittany and Santana walk back into the room.

"We can stay." Brittany announces happily and they get to work on the cookies.

* * *

><p>The next day Mike sits at the table in the cafeteria and stares as the food on his plate; he's still somewhat debating on whether or not he should tell Santana that his parents know about her and Brittany.<p>

"Hey." Santana said as she sat down at the table. Mike looks up at her and is momentarily taken aback; Santana looked pale and exhausted.

"I know, I look like shit. Everyone's taken time out of their day to tell me so." Santana said before having a coughing fit.

"Are you feeling well enough to be in school?" Mike asked full of concern.

Santana scoffed, "I've been through worse."

"Still…" Mike trailed off.

Santana coughed again and took out an envelope, "Look, I got my test results back."

"So, what did it say?" Mike asked.

"I- I didn't have the courage to look." Santana said shyly. Mike picks up the envelope and looks towards Santana for permission. When she nods her head he opens the envelope.

"It's positive." Mike says quietly and Santana's shoulder's slump. There's a gasp behind them and they both look up to see Jacob Ben Israel and his cameraman staring them in the face.

"Care to comment on what exactly is positive?" He asks as he pushes his microphone towards them.

Santana growls and glares as the boy, "Get your pimple infested ass face away from me before I slowly remove you balls one at a time with a fucking spork."

Mike stares at her in shock at her malice and Jacob slowly moves away from her before he runs away from her as quickly as possible.

"Was that really necessary?" Mike asks and before Santana could reply she quickly jumps up before running to the garbage can and losing what food she had on her stomach. Mike jumps up and holds her hair back as she continues to be sick. He can feel everyone staring at them and hears the whispers as Santana finally stops retching.

"I'm okay." Santana says as she spits one last time before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria; embarrassment clearly written on her face. Mike runs back to the table to grab their things and throw their food away.

"Mike, is she okay?" Brittany asked.

Mike turns to her, "I don't know, I think she might have the flu or something. I'll try to convince her to go home."

Brittany nods, "Don't take her home, her mom doesn't really do anything and Santana won't properly take care of herself if she's really sick." Mike nods and goes to find Santana. He finds her leaning against the lockers, panting, and swallowing heavily.

"Santana you're too sick to be in school. Let me take you home." Mike says.

"I'm not going home, I don't want to be stuck at home alone with that bitch. I can make it through the rest of the day." Santana says.

"You know, I've never seen someone get mean when sick." Mike comments. Santana only grabs her stomach and blinks back tears. She slowly slides down the lockers as a sob escapes her; Mike notices a few people walking in the hall that are pointing and staring. That's when he realizes that Santana is putting up a front for everyone else.

"Go away and mind your own business." Mike snaps and they quickly walk away. Before he can turn around, Santana is back up and sprinting for the nearest bathroom with her hand covering her mouth. Mike sighs and trails after her, a few girls run out of the bathroom gagging and Mike can hear Santana retching in the bathroom. Mike stands outside of the bathroom and debates whether it would be alright if he went in to help her.

"Mike." Santana cried out pitifully before throwing up again and that was all it took for him to burst into the bathroom. He found Santana on the floor of the nearest stall gripping the toilet tightly as she continued to vomit the contents of her stomach; he held her hair back and rubbed her back. When she was done, Mike helped her sit back up and Santana promptly burst into tears as she held her stomach.

"It's okay, I'll take you back to my house." Mike felt her forehead and gasped; she was burning up. Mike stood up and tried to get Santana to stand and quickly caught her as she lost her balance.

"I don't feel good." Santana whimpered through her tears.

"I know." Mike replied. He had only managed to get Santana to the sinks before she was running back to the toilet and began vomiting again. This was bad, he's never seen someone throw up this much in such a short amount of time; he was starting to become really concerned. Mike quickly pulled out his cell phone as he once again held Santana's hair back.

"Hello?"

"Mom, Santana's sick." Mike said urgently.

"Is that her I hear?" Mrs. Chang asked full of concern; Mike could hear her going into full mother mode.

"She's throwing up a lot, I'm worried mom. Are you at home?" Mike asked.

"I'm not at home but I'm close by, why? Can't you just take her to her house?" Mrs. Chang asked.

"She doesn't want to go home." Mike replies and Santana finishes and flushes the toilet.

"Okay, bring her here and I'll be home by the time you make it." Mrs. Chang says and Mike feels relief fill him; his mom will take care of everything. Mike hangs up and tries his best to quickly get Santana to the car; she only threw up once during the entire trip to the car.

Driving home was quite the adventure; Santana hadn't managed to make it not ten minutes before he had to pull over so she could be sick on the side of the road. He was grateful that she managed to not get any sick on the car and he only felt slightly guilty when he hoped that whatever she had wasn't too contagious.

By the time he pulled into the driveway, his mom was standing in the doorway worry evident on her face. Mike got out of the car and carried Santana into the house and placed her on the couch. Mike watched as him mom reached over and placed her hand on Santana's head.

"Oh my." She gasped out, "Mike go upstairs and get the thermometer."

Mike nodded and ran up to get what was requested of him. By the time he came back downstairs, his mom had removed Santana's shoes and wrapped her in a cover. Mike hurried over and handed his mom the thermometer.

"101.5. Santana you officially have a fever." Mrs. Chang announced. Santana only groaned before she hopped up and ran into the bathroom.

Mike sighed, "She's been doing that for almost an hour."

Mrs. Chang frowned, "She's losing too much fluid. I'm going to see if she can at least keep down some water."

Mike watches as his mother gets up and moves towards the kitchen. It's then that Mike notices that he hasn't heard any vomiting noises from Santana since she entered the bathroom. He frowns in confusion and decided to get up and see what's going on; when he nears the bathroom he hears Santana start to vomit. Mike knocks on the door and hears the toilet flush before Santana washes her hands and slowly walks out of the bathroom.

"It's getting worse." Santana says as Mike helps her back onto the couch.

"What's worse than vomiting every ten minutes?" Mike asks.

"Diarrhea along with vomiting every ten minutes." Santana says before she hides her face in the pillow. Mike doesn't know how to respond except for rub her back in sympathy.

* * *

><p>Mike sighs as he makes his way into school; it's only Thursday and he's exhausted and ready for the week to be over. He still feels bad that Santana's stuck as home sick but the thing that makes him angry was how easily Mrs. Lopez allowed someone else to take care of her sick daughter. Mike still doesn't understand how he managed to stay civil with the woman on the phone; she didn't even sound too worried.<p>

"Oh there you are." Rachel says as she makes her way towards him through the crowd.

"What's going on?" Mike asks.

"There's an emergency glee meeting right now. I'm assuming you'll let Santana know so that she will be able to attend." Rachel says.

"Santana isn't going to be at school today." Mike informs.

"Oh, well that's one less person to track down. If you'll make your way to the choir room we can get this meeting started." Rachel replied before turning around and making her way to the choir room. Mike stared after her; she didn't even ask why Santana wouldn't be in school today. Even if she didn't care it would've at least been polite to pretend to care; they're supposed to be a 'family' after all. Mike walks into the choir room to see everyone gathered except for Brittany.

"Okay, I've called this meeting so we can figure out what to do about Brittany." Artie starts off.

"Tell her the truth." Mike says from his spot at the edge of the group.

"Her parents want her to continue to believe in Santa." Artie replies with a shrug and Mike rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, we could just tell her that elves have done really good stem cell research but that it'll take years." Sam suggests.

"I was thinking that we could have Coach Beiste dress up as Santa and break the news to her." Artie says and most of the group nods.

"You know, none of this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't went out of your way to keep up this charade. Seriously, a mall Santa? We did not have to take it that far and now, instead of telling her the truth about your condition, we're having Coach dress up as Santa to trick her? Do you really think that she'll fall for that?"

"What is your problem? Santana not here so you decide to channel her bitchiness?" Artie snaps.

"I'm tired of you treating Brittany like she's a fucking five year old." Mike snaps back and everyone pauses shocked; it's not every day that he curses, let alone curse in public. Mike shook his head in annoyance before he walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Mike tiredly walks into the house and sets his things down before making his way to the front room. He walks over to the couch and sits next to Santana who's watching Christmas movies on TV.<p>

"So, how was school?" Santana asks as she sips he vitamin water.

Mike sighs, "I snapped at Artie today."

"That's always a good thing. What did the little cretin do this time?" Santana asked as she muted the TV.

"He's planning on having Coach Beiste dress up as Santa so she can explain why Brittany won't be getting her Christmas wish this year." Mike explains bitterly.

"What the ever loving fuck?" Santana said quietly, looking around to see if his mother was in ear shot.

"Amazingly he didn't see how this was insulting to Brittany's intelligence." Mike said.

"You know what? As soon as I get better I'll deal with him, he's on my list." Santana said as she took a sip of water.

"Don't do anything illegal."

Santana rolls her eyes, "So I talked to my dad today and he told me about the thing called a 'Rewalk'. It's like some weird robot leg thing that he won in a raffle." Santana said.

"They put something like that as a raffle prize?" Mike asked incredulously.

"I think it was some charity event thing, you don't get it but get to decided where it goes. My dad was planning on sending it to some underprivileged child in South America but I've convinced him to give it to Artie. Let it never be said I didn't do anything selfless. I even gave up my Christmas presents so that kid could still get something for Christmas." Santana further explained.

Mike stared at her, "You seriously did that?"

"Yeah, it'll make Brittany happy so it's worth it. It's going to take a few days before it arrives so, it's not like he'll get it right away. At least this way he'll sweat a bit on what to do with Brittany." Santana said smugly. Mike smiles and decides to buy something for Santana for Christmas.

* * *

><p>That Saturday Mike walks around the crowded mall as he searches for a present for Santana. His mother had already headed to a different store to find something; once she heard about what Santana did for Artie she was determined to get Santana presents. It also helped that Brittany and his dad were more than happy to keep Santana company while they were out. Mike checked his wallet and saw that he only had enough money for something simple and he wanted to make it count. Mike stopped as he walked passed a build-a-bear workshop and decided to get her something from there; remembering Santana's love for stuffed animals. As luck would have it Tina and Mercedes were at the same store looking through the toys. Mike sighed but continued on in his mission; if he was lucky they wouldn't see him.<p>

Mike decided to get her a rabbit; he was going to dress her up as a cheerleader because even if she doesn't say anything, he knows she's upset about quitting. Mike's in the process of picking out an outfit when he's interrupted.

"Never thought I'd see you here." Tina says from behind him; Mike wonders why she keeps seeking him out if she's the one who broke up with him.

"I'm picking out a Christmas present." Mike says not bothering to face her.

"For Santana?" Tina asks coldly.

"Yes I am." Mike replies as he starts to dress the toy.

"Why, is it because she's getting coal for Christmas?" Tina asked and Mercedes laughed.

Mike turned to them angrily, "No, it's because she decided that underprivileged kids needed presents more than she did. She gave up her presents so they could have some and so I've decided to get her something so she won't be completely present less on Christmas."

They stared at him at a loss for what to say as Mike finished putting the outfit on the rabbit before heading towards checkout. Serves them right for making assumptions about someone they know nothing about.

* * *

><p>Monday morning Mike was happy to see Santana was feeling well enough to return to school. Mike and Santana make their way their way over to their lockers and notice and upset Brittany.<p>

"Britt?" Santana questions.

Brittany looks up and smiles. She gives Santana a hug, "You're back, I'm really happy that you're feeling better."

"Thanks, why are you so upset?" Santana asked.

"I was told that they won't be able to make Artie walk again. I mean I knew it was a long shot but I thought there was at least some hope. Even more upsetting is they thought that I wouldn't recognize Coach Beiste in a Santa costume." Brittany sighed.

"I told him it was a stupid idea and that he should just tell you the truth." Mike said.

"Did he really think I couldn't notice a Santa imposter?" Brittany asked and Mike just shrugged.

"He's just being an idiot Britt. Don't worry about it." Santana says. Their conversation is interrupted by Sam running towards them.

"Someone trashed the choir room."

"What?" Mike said shocked before they run to the choir room. What met them was a mess; it looked as if a tornado came through and only hit the choir room. Decorations were broken and thrown all over the room and the tree was completely destroyed.

"It's ruined. Christmas is ruined." Brittany sniffled quietly beside him before she ran out of the room. Santana looked as if she wanted to run after her but instead let Artie take the role; she didn't look very happy about it.

"Let's get to cleaning up." Mr. Shue says sadly.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week was spent trying to cheer up a depressed Brittany and caroling around the school. They didn't get anymore shoes thrown at them and even a few people were inspired to donate for the homeless children. Friday Santana happily skipped through the halls to the choir room. They just had a successful caroling session in the teacher's lounge and everyone was happy. Walking into the choir room they were met with Brittany and Artie, who was wearing some weird thing on his legs. Mike had a feeling that was the Rewalk that Santana was talking about.<p>

"Look what Santa brought." Brittany says excitedly and Mike doesn't think he's ever seen her look as happy as she does now.

"I thought that Brittany's dad had brought it for me but he doesn't know anything about it." Artie added as he stood up and took a few steps around the room. It really was amazing.

* * *

><p>Mike is driving to his house with Santana in tow as she talks excited at how happy Brittany looked today when she saw Artie walk for the first time. He couldn't wait until they got to his house, his parents were already home and Mike only hoped that Santana would like her surprise.<p>

"Hey, where are we going?" Santana asked as they passed the turn to her house.

"Well, I didn't tell you but my parents wanted to see you before you left for the holidays." Mike said.

Santana frowned, "I'm not in trouble am I? I swear I apologized for throwing up in the shower."

"It's not about that. You were sick so all is forgiven." Mike chuckled but he did find it a bit sad that every time his parents wanted to see her Santana assumed she was in trouble for something.

They pulled into the driveway and Mike had to all but drag a frightened Santana to the house, "Seriously, my parents love you. You're not in trouble."

"Fine. If you say so." Santana says as she walks through the door.

"Hello Santana, Mike." Mrs. Chang greets as she gives them both a hug.

"I was told that you wanted to see me?" Santana asked.

Mrs. Chang smiled, "Yes we did. A little birdie told me what you did for that boy in your glee club."

Mike smiled at Santana's confused expression. His mother grabbed her hand and led her further into the front room. He saw Santana look towards the Christmas tree, which now had presents under it.

"What's going on?" Santana asked as she sat on the couch.

"Well, we thought we would have a mini pre-Christmas day. Santa already bought your presents." Mr. Chang said. Santana's eyes widen in realization and she turns back to the tree. Mike quietly moves and grabs the camcorder and starts to record the moment.

"That's really for me?" Santana asks as her eyes start to shine with tears. Mike's parents nod and the encourage Santana to go an open the presents. Santana moves to sit next to the tree and grabs the first present. It just so happened to be his and Mike couldn't wait for her to see what he got her. Santana unwraps the box and once she recognizes the box quickly opens it and pulls out her new cheerleader rabbit.

Santana stares at the rabbit before she holds it close and cries.

"Oh honey, you don't have to cry." Mrs. Chang says as she sits next to Santana; her own eyes tearing up.

"I-I'm just… Thank you." Santana says.

"Come on open the others." Mike encourages and his dad hands her the next box. Santana opens it to reveal a bundle of books that he knew that she had wanted for a while.

"You're welcome." Mike's dad says and Santana jumps up and gives him a hug. Santana returns to her seat and takes the next box that was handed to her by his mother. Santana opens the small box to reveal a few charms.

"I thought you might want more charms for that charm bracelet that you always wear." Mrs. Chang says.

"I love it, thank you." Santana says as she gives his mom a hug.

"Alright." Mrs. Chang says as she wipes a few of her tears, "Time for a Christmas movie."

Mike happily agrees and turns off the camcorder as they begin to vote over what to watch. They finally settled on watching 'Elf'. Mike sat on the couch with Santana and her new rabbit cuddled up on his side and Mike decided it was shaping up to be a very nice evening.

* * *

><p><strong>Awwww...how sweet was that ending? A little Brittana for those who doubted my intentions when I broke Tike up and also, the Chang's know! Now I have my own plans for this story and the direction I want to take it so season 3 will have no bearing on this story. Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit empty in terms of plot but the episode didn't really have a plot either and there's only so much I can fix. Until next time.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, I will admit this chapter is rather short but it is only a filler chapter. I realized that once you put the episodes in their correct order Glee managed to skip a whole month give or take a few days. So I created this chapter as a sort of glimpse into that month and all of the drama that it contained. Also a bit of harsh language ahead. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Mike walked into the school first day back after break and what he saw shocked him; Santana was down the hallway making out with some random guy. Why was Santana back to making out with guys? He thought they had managed to make some progress. Mike decided to walk over and see what was going on.<p>

"Hey." Mike said next to them and they finally stopped kissing.

"Hey, have a nice break?" Santana asked as if some dude wasn't kissing down her neck and groping her.

Mike stared at them in confusion, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting my mack on." Santana says simply.

"Hey, I'm a bit busy here. Why don't you wait your turn?" They guy says before he leads Santana to the nearest bathroom. Mike couldn't believe this; Santana just blew him off to go hook up with some guy in the school bathroom.

"You saw it too huh?" Mike turned to see a slightly disappointed Brittany standing behind him.

"What in the world is going on?" Mike asked.

"She's hiding again. I don't understand why she just can't accept her awesomeness and share it with the world." Brittany replied.

"It's sad but we have to give her time. How was your break?" Mike asked.

"It was pretty good. Lord Tubbington got a new cat post and he uses it to look out of the window. He's a very good guard cat; he meows at anyone who gets close to the house." Brittany says happily and Mike laughs at the image.

* * *

><p>It's the first Acadec meeting in the new year and their hit with bad news; Simon just transferred schools. Apparently his parents wanted to get him away from the bulliying that he was subjected to on a regular basis when it was discovered that he was pushed into lockers, slushied, and had garbage dumped over his head.<p>

"The good news is that we have a new member to joins us." Mr. Hennessey says. Mike looks over and sees Tina making her way over to sit next to him. They sat in awkward silence as the teacher continues on with his game plan on winning competitions.

As Mike is packing his bag at the end of class he looks over to Tina, "Why did you decide to join?"

"I missed you. All this time apart has given me time to think and I wanted to try again." Tina said quietly.

Mike sighed; was he ready to take Tina back? On one hand this is exactly what he's been wishing for but none of that matters is they still have the same problems that broke them up in the first place.

"I'm not going to suddenly stop being friends with Santana just because you want to try again. You really hurt me Tina, with your harsh words, your accusations, and your lack of faith in me to stay committed; it's going to take some time." Mike said.

"I'm willing to work at it, we don't have to go straight back to dating. I just want to know that you're willing to try again." Tina replied.

"Okay, but I'm not making any promises." Mike says and Tina smiles before giving him a hug. Mike freezes but slowly hugs her back; he somewhat hated how much he missed her.

* * *

><p>Mike makes his way to lunch happy that things with Tina are on the mend. Now all he had to do was find out what happened with Santana. He can't understand why she's regressed as badly as she has; Santana hasn't slept around this much since sophomore year. Making his way towards the table, Mike can see that Santana is already seated but she's flirting with the jocks at the table across from theirs. Mike takes a calming breath before he goes and takes a seat.<p>

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Hello to you too. How was your winter break?" Santana asked as she took a bit of her salad.

"Mine's was good; spent time with family, partied, and ate a lot of food. You?" Mike replied.

"Oh, the same. My family likes to drink a lot so once they were nice and wasted I had to spend hours listening to them go on and on about how all the dirty faggots don't deserve to live and how dare they even think of wishing for the right to get married. It's bad enough that they're having children and exposing them to their dirty sinful ways, they all deserve to be sterilized." Santana said with false cheer and Mike just stared at her with his mouth open. He knew her mother had a problem with gay people but he did not realize that Santana's family was that deeply homophobic.

"I am so fucking glad Kurt was not here to hear that." Mercedes says angrily. Mike doesn't think he's ever seen her look as angry as she does now.

"Look-"

"Don't. You don't get to speak to me anymore, I can't believe you. You fucking hypocrite." Mercedes says before stalking off to her table. Mike sighs as he sees her relay what she heard to the rest of the table. He can see their disgusted faces (Brittany just looks disappointed and sad) and Mike just knows that this has turned into one big mess.

"Shit." Santana mutters as she puts her head in her hands.

"Yeah. We should explain." Mike says.

"I'm not a hypocrite." She continues as though she hasn't heard him.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asks.

"I'm not gay." Oh good lord, this was worse than he thought.

"Santana…." Mike trailed off.

"I'm not. I've decided, I'm not like that, I was just confused. I'm straight. I can be normal just like everyone else." Santana mumbles to herself. Mike touches her hand to get her attention but Santana jerks back and quickly leaves the cafeteria. Mike sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose; how did things fall apart so quickly?

* * *

><p>The next day it doesn't take Mike long to realize that Santana's avoiding him again; he knows because he spent the entire day looking for her. She didn't even come to lunch today. Mike slowly making his way to glee when he notices Santana standing next to the open door out of sight from the occupants inside. Mike makes his way over to see what's going on.<p>

"I can't believe she would say something like that." Quinn says in disbelief.

"Really Quinn, you're surprised? What more do you really expect from someone who prides herself on being a teenage trollop?" Rachel said snidely and he could see Santana clutch her binder closer to her chest. Mike hated this; they didn't even know the full context of conversation and they were judging her for it.

"I really hate it now that Mike is so determined to be friends with someone like that. I just wish he could see how detrimental that is to his reputation." Tina sighs. Mike sees Santana glance over at him and he can tell, just from the quick look, that she's taking everything they're saying to heart and it's cutting deep.

"Guys this really doesn't sound like Santana, she not a bad person." Brittany says timidly.

"Don't stick up for someone like that Brittany." Rachel snaps. "Santana's a homophobe and it's sickening. With someone like her around I don't blame Kurt at all for transferring, nobody needs to be around that type of hatred. Honestly if she were to step into this room right now, well I'd…I'd…"

"You'd what Berry." Santana says snidely as she steps from her hiding place into the choir room. Mike quickly follows after her; this was not going to be pretty. What follows is chaos as the room erupts into shouts of anger; Mike sees Brittany put her hands to her ears and run from all the shouting, curling into a ball in the corner. He couldn't stay to preoccupied by that as Mercedes and Santana were about to face off in a bad way and he only had a few seconds to get in between them.

"Santana don't." Mike says as he holds her back; his back being pounded on by Mercedes as she angrily tries to get to Santana.

"I can't believe you're trying to protect that little bitch." Mercedes yells.

"Let me go and I'll show her just how much of a bitch I am." Santana shouts back angrily before spouting off angry Spanish. Everyone continued to yell and Mike continued to try and protect Santana from the rest of New Directions; he didn't manage completely as Rachel snuck in and smacked Santana in the face which caused the girl to elbow him and tackle Rachel to the ground. Mike quickly regained his wind and jumped back into the fray. He had just managed to get control of Santana when he felt Rachel suddenly lift from his back.

"Brittany let me go!" Rachel yelled angrily but Brittany held on tightly and this was how Mr. Shue and Mrs. Pillsbury found them.

"Enough! What is going on here?" Mr. Shue yelled catching everyone's attention and making them stop.

"Santana's a homophobe and we refuse to have her in this group!" Rachel says angrily.

"What?" Mr. Shue says in disbelief.

"I am not." Santana replied.

"Bullshit. Mercedes heard you." Puck said angrily.

"Puck language. Is this true?" He asked.

"Mercedes heard the tail end of a conversation out of context." Mike said simply as he hestitantly let go of Santana.

"Mr. Shue you should have heard her. Spouting off how gays don't deserve to live and should get sterilized." Mercedes said.

"And if you'd heard the beginning of that conversation you would know that that's what my drunken relative spent the entire winter break subjecting me to." Santana says blandly.

"Wait what?" Finn asks.

"My uncles decided it would be fun to tell me all the reasons why homosexuals are a sin and how they plan on getting rid of every single one of them. If Mercedes had just let me explain that we wouldn't have had this big ass fight for no reason. Oh and Rachel, I'm not stupid, the walls have ears, and I know exactly what a trollop is." Santana replies.

"Well it's not my fault if it's the truth." Rachel replies back.

"Rachel!" Mr. Shue admonishes and Rachel at least has the good grace to look ashamed. Mike just sighs and rubs his sore stomach.

"As for the rest of you, you should be ashamed of yourself for jumping to conclusions and attacking one of our own. We're supposed to be a family." Mr. Shue says and they look down ashamed. Mike really hope that they feel that way for a while. Mike hated it but he was starting to see New Directions a less of a family and more of a club; no wonder Santana didn't trust any of them.

* * *

><p>Mike is tired, he's tired and it's only Wednesday. It's the first week back and already they've had a big fight. He starts to wonder when his life became full of so much drama. Mike walks over to the lockers and sees Santana gather her things for the day.<p>

"Hey. Can we talk?" Mike asks.

"Why?" Santana replies as she closes her locker.

"I'm concerned about you sleeping around. You may try to deny it but I can see how bad it's making you feel. Why continue to do it?" Mike asked.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I enjoy sex, with guys, and you don't get to dictate what I do with my body." Santana snaps.

"Santana-"

"As lovely as this little lover's spat is, I have a few questions that need to be addressed." Jacob said, causing them to turn and face him.

"You're in my personal space nerd." Santana snaps and Jacob takes a few steps back.

"Inquiring minds want to know, what's the deal between you and Brittany? Some people seem to think there may be more than friendly feeling between the two of you." Mike's pretty sure he's the only one that sees the brief flash of pure fear that overcomes her before Santana schools her features.

"Look, Britts and I are just friends. I bet these inquiring minds are just some horny guys with a little too much time on their hands and they let their imaginations go wild." Santana says with a smirk and Mike can see Jacob buying everything she said.

"Now leave, we were talking." Mike says.

"Actually we were done." Santana replies as she walks away from them.

"Damn she burned you good. A word of advice, Lopez isn't one of the ones you try to keep, she's strictly booty call material." Jacob says before walking off.

* * *

><p>Mike eats his food silently as he glares across the table at Santana. She for her part had pointedly ignored him as she reads her history book and eats her salad. Mike hated that they were fighting, weren't talking, and that Santana was doing really self destructive things. Santana sighs in frustration before placing her book down.<p>

"You're incredibly distracting. Stop glaring at me." Santana snaps.

"Don't get pissy because you're angry your little plan of denial isn't working." Mike retaliates.

"You know, the only good thing that came out of us hanging out together is that you've gotten way better at your comebacks." Santana said.

"The only good thing that came out of us being _friends_ is that you started accepting yourself and stopped your self-destructive habits." Mike commented and Santana stayed silent as they glared at one another.

"I'm not that way." Santana said after a while.

"You are and you know it. I'm not letting you run back into your little river of denial. You were happier." Mike said.

"Why can't you just try to let me be normal?" Santana questioned angrily.

"Because you already are normal and you're only hurting yourself by being something you're not." Mike snapped.

"I'm not normal, the stupid fucking feelings that I have aren't normal. I want to fit in and be like everyone else. If you can't accept that then you can leave and we'll never speak again." Santana says angrily and Mike stares at her. She was serious about this; he sighed and rubbed his forehead. There was no getting through to her right now.

"Fine." Mike said as he reached into his bag. He pulled out a box of condoms and handed them to her, "If I can't convince you to stop at least protect yourself okay."

"Okay." Santana says as she takes the box. Mike didn't like this but he would wait; he would wait for her to reach rock bottom and be there for her when she realizes that what she's doing isn't helping her.

* * *

><p>The next day during glee Mike sits next to Tina and moodily watches as Santana flirts with some random guy in the hallway; he can't help but notice how terribly forced it seems on her part and the guy clearly wasn't interested in anything other than sex.<p>

"I don't understand why it upsets you. Santana's always been that way and plus it's not like you two are dating." Tina says from beside him.

"It upsets me because my friend is going around and giving it up to anyone who is willing like she has no sort of self respect. There's a difference between being open about sex along with having multiple sexual partners in your life and just having sex with any willing guy to make yourself feel better." Mike said as he sighed in frustration. He stared at Santana as she made her way across the choir room and purposefully sat a couple of chairs away from him.

"My fellow glee clubbers if I may have your attention please. In light of recent events, I've felt as if we could do with a little team bonding. With midterms also quickly approaching I propose we have a group study session at my house this evening, as a way of a truce so to speak." Rachel said. Everyone murmurs in agreement and a time is set just as Mr. Shue walks in ready to start the meeting.

* * *

><p>Mike makes his way up the front lawn to Rachel's front door and can't help but sigh. On some level, part of him is telling him this could end badly, the other part just wonders when he became such a pessimist. Ringing the doorbell Mike is promptly greeted by an excited Rachel, who is just happy that people actually showed up instead of blowing her off; Mike felt bad for her.<p>

"Have a seat. Everyone else is already here and there are snacks in the kitchen whenever you're ready for a snack break." Rachel says before going back to her spot at the coffee table. To Mike's surprise Kurt is there with them and he walks over to the table.

"Hi Kurt long time no see." Mike greets.

"Same to you. How are you?" Kurt asks as he gives Mike a hug.

"I'm good been better though. I trust Dalton is treating you well?" Mike replied politely.

"Oh yes, that school is wonderful, exactly what I needed. I do miss you guys though."Kurt says and Mike nods.

"Well I guess I better get started, this homework isn't going to do itself." Mike said before he took a seat next to Santana and started on his homework. It was mostly quiet as everyone studied quietly to themselves. Every now and then someone asked a question or for help on a certain problem but all in all it was peaceful. Santana was keeping to herself and next to her Sam was busy doing his science reading, aloud. At first Mike didn't mind it, he could ignore it well enough, but it was a bit distracting whenever Sam would mess up and had to start again or he would stutter through a word. After a few minutes Santana finally snapped.

"Do you have to read out loud?" she asked.

"I'm sorry but it helps with my dyslexia." Sam replied. Mike can tell he's self conscious about it; it's written all over his face and in his body language as he flushes with embarrassment and puts his book away. He looks over to Santana and can tell that she feels bad about making him feel embarrassed but she stays silent and continues on with her trigonometry. Once his book is put away Sam gets up and moves towards the kitchen to presumably get a snack.

"What was that about?" Mike whispered.

"I didn't know it helped with his reading. All I knew is that I was trying to do my math but I couldn't concentrate because my brain zeroed in on whatever the hell he was reading. He was making me mess up and start over." Santana explained and Mike could tell that she was nearly frustrated to tears.

"It's okay. You didn't know, what problem are you having a hard time with?" Mike asked and Santana gives him her answer sheet.

"It's number nine."

"Okay first mistake, you wrote the problem wrong. The number is 934 not 493. I think that should make things a bit easier for you." Mike says as he returns the paper to her. He watches as she corrects her mistake and starts to work on the problem before returning to his own homework. It isn't long before Santana is trying to get his attention again.

"Hey, I need help."

"You know this would be the perfect time to bond with someone other than me. I'm sure someone would be willing to help you." Mike said.

"Why can't you do it?" Santana asks.

"This is supposed to be a bonding experience first, remember? Go make friends; if they yell or laugh at you then I'll get them for you." Mike replies encouragingly before getting up to get his own snack from the kitchen, passing Sam on the way. Mike's only half way through his peanut butter and jelly sandwich before the silence is broken.

"Fuck you Santana! Why do you always have to be such a bitch?" Sam yelled from the living room.

"I'm a bitch? All I did was ask you a simple fucking question and you freak out, you're the one acting like a bitch right now!" Santana retaliates. Mike groans before placing down his sandwich and returning to the living room.

"What's going on? I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful event?" Puck asked from his side of the room.

"Tell Santana to stop making fun of my learning disability." Sam said angrily.

"Making fun of you? All I did was ask for help on my math homework! How the hell is that making fun of you?"

"Please calm down." Mike said as he reached the two of them.

"I'm not understanding the problem here. Santana asked for help, which is a feat in itself; seriously I'm shocked, but I'm confused as to why you're taking offense to that Sam." Rachel said causing Santana to glare at her.

"First she makes a comment about me reading aloud-"

"It was distracting, I was trying to study." Santana interrupted.

"Let him finish." Finn jumped in.

"Then if that wasn't enough, she asked me to help on her trig homework. My dyslexia affects my ability to do math." Sam explains.

"Why the hell would I assume that you have issues with math?" Santana asks.

"She does have a point. Not many people would assume that about someone with dyslexia." Quinn says before Sam could argue further.

"Plus I wouldn't make fun of someone with a learning disability." Santana says and multiple people in the room snort in disbelief, "I wouldn't."

"Why? Because you have standards? Nothing's really off limits with you Santana." Artie says. Mike sighed; why did everything turn into a Santana versus everyone else?

"I wouldn't make fun of someone with a learning disability because I have one myself." Santana replies before she walks into the kitchen leaving everyone in a shocked silence. Even Mike himself; he never expected her to share something so personal with them casually like that.

* * *

><p>It's Friday afternoon and Mike is lying in his bed after an intense gaming session of <em>Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood<em> and he's just happy that the weekend is officially here. He doesn't think he's ever had this much drama in a month as he had in this week alone. Mike had just started to doze off when his phone when off, scaring him awake.

"Hello?" Mike answered sleepily.

"Hey Mike." Santana greeted sadly. He could hear yelling and screaming in the background before there was a very loud crash that made him sit up in bed.

"Is everything alright? What's going on?" Mike asked his voice full of concern.

"I told him." Santana replied.

"Told who what?" Mike asked.

"I told my dad that my mom was cheating on him." Santana clarified and Mike nearly dropped the phone in shock as Santana burst into tears.

* * *

><p><strong>Do I smell the beginnings of Samtana and is Tike on the mend? So Santana finally told her father the truth and as sad as it is, she's regressed...badly. I know we haven't met Santana's parents in canon but considering how she is, I don't think they're nice people. A slight look into why Santana is so afraid of what people will say behind her back (if these are the things coming from her 'friendsfamily' who needs enemies?) Also, it may have taken eight chapters but Mike finally grew a backbone and little teddy bear claws to go with it. I wanted to show how the other members of New Directions interact with Santana (she's like an outsider within the group). Basically (how I see it) ND treats her badly but doesn't realize it, in return Santana openly retaliates which causes ND to greatly dislike her for it and then the cycle repeats. It's some weird catch-22 thing and Santana strikes me as the type of person to pull out the big guns whenever she feels the slightest bit threatened/vulnerable. So, I decided to run with it. Anyways, until next time.**


	9. Silly Love Songs

**Wow, long time no read. I'm really sorry about that.**

* * *

><p>Winter was finally almost over; not really but mid February was close enough in Mike's opinion. He raised the intensity of the heater in the car as he made his way down Santana's street; the soft tunes of his new Greg Laswell album playing in the background. Mike would be forever grateful that Santana introduced him to her CD collection. He had just pulled into her driveway when Santana stormed out of the house and made her way to the car; her mother stood on the porch and yelled after her angrily.<p>

"-you little slut-" Was all Mike heard as Santana quickly got in the car and closed the door.

"Santana what-"

"Just drive." She interrupted and Mike quietly pulled out of the driveway. The drive was silent as Mike held in all the questions slowly swirling in his head; it wouldn't do to push her, Santana would tell him when she was ready.

"I know you're curious." Santana said, quietly breaking the silence.

"I am but I was waiting for you to be ready to tell me." Mike explained.

Santana sighed, "She's still pissed that I told my dad. She retaliated by informing him of my sexual history, or at least that I wasn't a virgin anymore."

"How did she even know that?" Mike asked.

"Don't know, maybe it was obvious because I was somewhat dating Puck last year and he's known all around Lima for being a man whore. Anyways, my dad was pissed and both of them had the best of times telling me how much of a slut I am, how I have no respect for my body, and how I should've waited to lose my virginity. My dad even told me that I should be concentrating on raising my grades instead of chasing boys. He said that if I don't get a good education I should get used to spreading my legs and selling my body for money; that he won't support a whore. I haven't spoken to him since." Santana replied.

"Jeez, are you okay?" Mike asked. Santana stayed quiet but he could've sworn he saw tears in her eyes before she turned away from him. When he pulled into the parking lot and turned off the ignition, Mike grabbed Santana's hand before she could move to leave the car.

"You're amazing." Mike stated suddenly.

"What?"

Mike looked over at a confused Santana and smiled, "I don't think people tell you that enough. You are amazing Santana and I'm become extremely happy every time I remember that you're my friend."

Santana's eyes became glassy before she looked away. Mike could see her trying to fight a smile and it made his own become even wider. He leaned across pulled Santana into a hug, catching her completely by surprise. They stayed like that for a moment before Mike heard a quiet 'thank you' and Santana left the car.

* * *

><p>Mike couldn't believe how quickly time was flying by. It only seemed like yesterday that they were still in January; now Valentine's Day was just next week. Mike was happy that he and Tina were on the mend but he wasn't sure if he was ready to try for a relationship again. They were slowly becoming friends again but Mike could still see that Tina was jealous of Santana; even if she tried to deny it.<p>

"Great, another person struck by the sappiness of this stupid holiday." Santana grumbled from beside him. Mike turned to see Santana glaring at a love struck couple making their way down the hallway. He figured that Santana was still upset about her parents and because she couldn't spend this time with the one person she really wanted to.

"Don't be bitter, you don't have to have someone on Valentines." Mike said hopefully and Santana scoffed.

"Yeah right. Plus, it's not like I'll really be able to find someone, not with you around."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike asked.

"Don't think I haven't caught on to you yet. You've been scaring off any guy that tries to get close to me. You're being a cock block and it's annoying." Santana ranted.

"Look, if they're not even willing to fight for you then they shouldn't get to sleep with you." Mike shrugged; it made sense, whether Santana agreed or not.

"Why can't you just let me try to fit in?" Santana questioned quietly.

"So get a beard." Mike says simply.

"You mean a boyfriend." Santana corrects.

"Same thing." Mike shrugs and ignores Santana's glare.

"So, you want me to find a boyfriend. I guess I can do that, Sam and I do have this sorta friendship thing going on." Santana muses.

"Dating Quinn remember, at least go for someone who isn't currently in a relationship." Mike retorts and Santana stares at him expectantly. It takes Mike a moment to catch on to what she's thinking, "No, no way. It would be weird." The warning bell rings. "I'll see you at lunch okay."

"Fine, be that way." Santana says angrily. Mike sighed as she stalked off towards her next class

* * *

><p>Mike watches as Santana makes her way over to the lunch table with a scowl on her face. She sat down and pointedly ignored him as she ate her food.<p>

"Are you still upset that I turned you down?" Mike asked.

"It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, the whole school already thinks we're together already." Santana replied as she stabbed at her salad.

"Santana I think it would be awkward if we dated." Mike states.

"why?"

"I just don't think of you that way." Mike said, trying to let her down gently. He couldn't in good conscious beard for her when he wasn't sure of his feeling for Tina. That just seemed to be potentially setting himself up for disaster. Before Santana could reply however, their conversation was interrupted by Sam who sat down next to them. Based on the look Santana was giving him, Mike just knew the conversation wasn't over.

"Hey guys." Sam greeted and Mike waved.

"Sup trout." Santana greeted.

"I really wish you'd stop calling me that." Sam groaned.

"Not gonna happen. I suggest you get used to it." Santana replied.

Sam looked towards Mike for help but he only shrugged, "It helps if you think of it as a term of endearment."

"How?"

"At least she's not torturing you or ignoring your entire existence. It's all about silver linings." Mike said nonchalantly and Santana nodded.

Sam stared at them in shock before he chuckled, "You two are odd. Anyways, Santana I was wondering if you could look over my English essay."

"Yeah sure." Santana replied before Sam handed her his assignment. Mike was just happy that Santana was making progress and starting to make friends; at least he hoped.

* * *

><p>Glee was awkward as all the couples paired up. Mike was careful to sit a few seats away from Santana; he wasn't ready to continue their previous conversation. The one flaw in his plan was that by avoiding Santana, Mike inadvertently ended up sitting next to Tina.<p>

"What not sitting next to your girlfriend? I thought the two of you would be a bit more affectionate, given your little display in the parking lot this morning." Tina grumbled.

"What?" Mike asked.

"It's all over Jacob's blog. Pictures of your little make-out session in your car. So much for just friends." Tina muttered darkly.

"Tina please don't start." Mike sighed; it seemed with Valentine's looming around the corner, even Tina's been a bit snippy. He honestly didn't understand why she couldn't just leave it be and not believe every rumor about Santana and himself.

"Hey you wouldn't believe what I just witnessed in the hallway." Santana stated as she chuckled. Mike looked over curiously.

"What?" Brittany asked.

"Mr. Shue asking Mrs. Pillsbury if she remembered the first time he wore the vest he's wearing today. Judging by her face even she's realized his stupid vest addiction." Santana explained.

"I don't think he's addicted." Mike defended, jumping into the conversation.

Santana glances behind her before rolling her eyes at Mike, "Oh please, he's so addicted he needs to be in a 12 step program." Before Mike could open his mouth to comment, they were interrupted by Mr. Shue's entrance.

Mr. Shue walks over to the whiteboard and writes 'love' on the board, "I have one word for you."

"Is it love?" Brittany asks suddenly and Mike chuckles from his seat; why didn't Mr. Shue realize that they could read?

"That's correct Brittany."

"Yes! Totally gonna graduate now."

Mr. Shue smiles at Brittany before continuing on, "Valentine's day is coming up. So for this week's lesson, I want you guys to pick a partner because you're going to sing to them what you think is the world's greatest love song." Mike groans inwardly; why not try harder to point out the fact that some people are single. "Yeah, find a song that communicates all the things you think love means to you. Now partner up.

Finn raises his hand, "Mr. Shue can I say something?" Mr. Shue nodded and Finn stood before the group, "I just wanted to point out that an entire month has gone by without anyone of us getting slushied." Some people cheer about this fact and Mike's pretty sure they haven't been slushied because of cold weather and the fact that they got off of winter break not too long ago.

"I think the fact that I led the football team to the conference championship might have something to do with it." Finn continues and Mike silently snorts. Santana hears and silently chuckles. "Fact is, I'm the closest thing this glee club has to a celebrity right now and just like a famous athlete, I want to give to a charity, you guys. So I'm setting up a kissing booth, for a dollar a smooch, and donating the proceeds to glee club. To help up-"

"Don't even try to act like you're helping this glee club out. You just want to kiss a bunch of girls." Mercedes interrupted and Mike nodded. He was glad someone spoke up because he wasn't sure how much longer he could take Finn's crap.

"Now, I've kissed Finn and can I just say, not worth the buck." Santana says and a few people chuckle. Mike sighs, he just knows this is going to go bad. "I would however pay a 100 dollars to jiggle one of his man boobs." Santana finishes and Mike tries to hide his smile; he wonders if Santana realized she somewhat voiced her love of boobs.

"Do you ever get tired of tearing other people down?" Finn asked.

"No not really." Santana replied, folding her arms.

"Cause you always just seem to be meddling in everyone else's business." Finn comments and Mike rolls his eyes because really? Could Finn talk?

"Oh please, you guys love me. I keep it real and I'm hilarious." Santana says confidently.

"Actually, you're just a bitch." Lauren jumps in.

"Okay, I'm sorry you just got eyes for my man." Santana replied.

"Okay first of all I'm not your man." Puck responds and Mike closes his eyes in annoyance; so much for him saying something constructive.

"And Finn is right, all you ever do is insult us. Three weeks ago you said you were disappointed I didn't have a lizard baby." Quinn states. Mike frowns and looks at Quinn, was she serious? Pot meet kettle. On the other hand the lizard thing was a bit weird.

"Five minutes ago you said Mr. Shue needed to be in a 12 step program." Tina adds.

"Wait what?" Mr. Shue asks.

"You're addicted to vests." Santana shrugs and Mike puts his hands in his head in frustration. He's about to put a stop to this entire mess when Rachel speaks.

"The truth is Santana you can dish it out but you can't take it. Okay maybe you're right, maybe I am destined to play the title role in the broadway musical version of _Willow_ but the only job you're gonna have is working on a pole." Rachel rants angrily.

Mike couldn't believe his ears. Did Rachel really say that? The resounding shocked silence answered his question. A quiet laugh ripped through the silence and Mike glared at the culprit; Puck.

"It's not funny!" Mike says angrily.

There was movement from below as Santana gathered her things, "Fine."

Mike quickly stood up to follow Santana but Brittany caught his eye and he stopped; she would handle it. He sat back down and tried to push down the anger that was trying to burst forth.

Rachel scoffed, "See what I mean? She can dish it out but can't take it."

"Rachel-"

"Shut up!" Mike snaps and the room is quieted once more. He turned and glared at Rachel, taking in an odd sense of satisfaction from her shocked expression.

"You were completely out of line with your comment." Mike said.

"She says mean things to us all the time. My comment wasn't anything Santana didn't deserve." Rachel argues.

"So that gives you the right to say mean things back? That makes you no better than her and she didn't deserve any of what you said. By your logic, what do you deserve for sending Sunshine to a crack house?" Mike responds angrily. When he was met with silence, Mike grabs his things and made to leave the room but Tina stops him.

"Mike wait."

"No, you know how much I hate seeing someone get ganged up on." Mike states, his comment making everyone in the room look guilty. He quietly continues his way out of the quiet room and is met with a crying Santana that was being comforted by Brittany.

"I'll take her home Mike." Brittany states and Mike nods. He gives Santana another concerned look before continuing down the hall.

* * *

><p>Mike walked through the front door and sighed as he dropped on the couch. He still felt bad for Santana and how messed up it was that people who wanted her to consider them friends, family even, were so quick to gang up on her and bring her down. Sure she wasn't a saint herself but they were working on it. Mike sighed again.<p>

"Sounds like you had a hard day." Mike looks up to see his mom standing in the doorway, "Yeah, but it was mainly glee that was stressful."

"Oh? What happened?" Mrs. Chang asked and Mike explained the events of the glee meeting.

"Your teacher didn't stop anything?"

"No, what's worse, Santana's dad said something similar to her not too long ago." Mike replied. "Honestly, I think that's why Rachel's comment hurt so much."

"Regardless that's a horrible thing to say to someone." Mrs. Chang said and Mike nodded.

"Where is she now?"

"Brittany took her home. I think they need to spend some time together, it' will probably help Santana." Mike explained.

Mrs. Chang smiled knowingly, "And just how are the two of them doing?"

Mike looked at her sadly, causing her smile to fall. As much as he wanted everything to be okay he couldn't let his parents think everything was fine.

"It's …" Mike sighed, "Brittany's dating Artie and Santana's in denial about her sexuality."

"Oh my."

"She's trying so hard to be straight, to be 'normal', and it's so sad because it's obvious how miserable she is." Mike continued sadly. He just couldn't hold it in anymore, it hurt too much to see Santana struggle so much.

"What do I do mom?"

Mrs. Chang sighs and sits next to him, "There's nothing you can do but be there for her."

Mike sighs but nods quietly.

* * *

><p>The next day Mike yawned loudly as Santana entered the car. The first thing he noticed is that Santana looked much happier than she did yesterday; seems time with Brittany did her some good.<p>

"Someone's in a better mood." Mike commented as he pulled out the driveway.

Santana smiled, "Britt and I got a chance to hang out yesterday, parent free."

"That's good what did you guys do?" Mike asked.

"We talked a bit, I really missed her you know." Mike nodded; he knew just a little too well how much they missed each other.

"After that we watched a movie and cuddled."

"Sounds amazing." Mike smirked. Santana lightly hit his arm before they burst into laughter.

* * *

><p>The day went fine but Mike thinks that was only due to him avoiding most of the gleeks. Santana and Brittany were back to their usual selves and it made him happy to see them giggling together in the hallway. Walking towards the cafeteria with Santana and Brittany in tow was a new experience for Mike. On one hand, he was happy to see them together and being their usual handsy self. On the other, he felt a bit left out; it made him frown.<p>

"Awww don't frown. I didn't forget about you, my little teddy bear." Santana cooed as she hugged Mike.

"I'm not a teddy bear." Mike pouted.

Brittany giggled, "You totally are."

Mike pouted some more before making his way to the lunch line; Brittany and Santana giggling after him. After getting their food they went their separate ways. Once seated Mike noticed Santana watching Brittany kiss Artie before taking her seat; her mood noticeably dampened.

"Don't torture yourself by watching." Mike said as he took a bit of his pizza.

"I'm fine." Santana defended. Mike was about to reply but was interrupted by Sam taking a seat.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi." Mike and Santana both replied.

"So I think there's something going on between Quinn and Finn." Sam states suddenly.

"What makes you say that?" Mike asks.

"It's just a vibe I get from them and then there's the looks. Also Quinn didn't like my date idea to go to Color Me Mine." Sam explained.

Santana chuckled, "No offense trout but Color Me Mine? That sounds like something a married couple would do together with their kid or something."

"Okay, maybe you have a point but I still feel like something's going on." Sam replied.

"Well just ask her then. Secondly, since when do you have this lunch period?" Santana asks.

"Since I switched into another history class."

"Why? What happened?" Mike asked.

"That teacher, Mrs. Newman, was a raging bitch. She said that I was using my dyslexia as an excuse to be lazy. I told my mom and she had a fit. I don't think I've ever seen Figgins look so scared." Sam explained and Santana burst into laughter. Mike honestly missed her laugh and he was comforted that Sam was trying to make up for yesterday.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt." Mike looked over to see a girl from his Spanish class; Megan if he remembered correctly.

"What's up?" Mike asked before Santana could reply.

"Well as you know Valentine's day is coming up and I was just wondering if any one of you wanted to purchase roses for your special someone." Megan explained.

"How much?" Sam asked reaching for his wallet.

"A dollar a rose." Megan answered and Mike could see Santana frown.

"Here's a five." Sam said as he passed her the money.

"Great thanks. Just fill out this form and on Monday we'll pass them out. Anyone else?"

"No thanks." Mike stated. Megan turned to Santana who only glared at her until she walked away.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked.

"She's single and Valentine's is coming up." Mike said.

"Shut up." Santana said angrily as she stabbed at her food. There was an awkward silence as they continued to eat their food. Suddenly Sam reached into his backpack and pulled a paper out.

"Look, I got an 'A' on my essay you helped me with." Sam said as he handed Santana the essay.

Santana smiled as she saw the bright red 'A' at the top of the page, "That's great."

* * *

><p>Glee the next day was a little weird as the first batches of songs were performed: Santana and Mercedes sang together, stating that they were the only females that were single (a fact that Santana was going to fix).<p>

The last song of the day was performed by Puck to none other than Lauren Zizes herself. Mike just couldn't believe Puck thought that 'Fat Bottom Girls' was a love song, let alone an appropriate one. Mike was just starting to walk out of the choir room when he's stopped by Artie.

"Hey Mike, I was wondering if you wanted to partner up?"

"Yeah, sure." Mike agreed.

"Cool, I already got a song. Meet me at my place and we can practice." Artie says as he gives Mike his address. Mike nods and it isn't until Artie rolls away that he realizes what he's done; Santana isn't going to be happy. Walking towards the car, Mike couldn't help but notice Santana standing next to the car looking upset.

"Santana…"

"Every girl…" She trailed off.

"What?" Mike asked confused.

Santana turned to him; her eyes glassy with unshed tears, "Every girl Puck has ever dated or been interested in he's sang to. Everyone except me. I just don't understand why."

"I don't know." Mike replied. He could understand how that would make her feel left out, that there was something wrong with her and Mike hated seeing her hurting so badly. Santana sighed and got into the car.

The entire ride home was spent in silence.

* * *

><p>Mike had just rang the doorbell when the door opened and he was greeted by Mrs. Abrams.<p>

"Hello."

"Hi you must be Mike." Mrs. Abrams greeted warmly, "Come in."

Mike enters the house and is met by Artie, who is currently in their spacious living room. If he was being honest, Mike was shocked that Artie even asked him to be his partner; considering Mike had dated his ex.

"Hey."

"Hi, are you ready to get started? I've been practicing the song so all we really need to do is come up with some sort of choreography."

"Cool." Mike answered and they spent the next two hours working on their performance.

* * *

><p>Mike walked into school that Friday morning feeling a little down; today was the day for his performance with Artie. The choreography wasn't that hard, basically him pulling some slick moves around Artie while he sings. It's just that he couldn't get his mind of the fact that if things had gone differently then he would be singing this song to Tina. Thoughts of how happy this type blatant public affection would have made her smile bought a bittersweet smile to Mike's face. Pushing these thoughts aside, Mike squared his shoulders and mentally prepared for a before class mini glee session and made his way to the choir room.<p>

* * *

><p>Everyone laughed and clapped as Mike and Artie finished their performance; even Tina didn't regard him with her usual frown. Mike watched as Brittany happily ran over to Artie and kissed him. All in all Mike would say he did pretty well; until he saw Santana's slight frown. Mike looked away guiltily when he realized that he indirectly helped Artie pull Brittany further away from Santana. He just knew they would be having words about him performing with Artie.<p>

"Great work guys." Mr. Shue said as the bell rang and everyone gathered their stuff. "Don't forget that we still have our actual glee meeting after school."

"That was amazing." Tina said as she walked over, pulling Mike from his thoughts. "I know we're not together anymore but you wanna walk me to class?"

"Sure." Mike responded; anything to prolong his argument with Santana.

* * *

><p>Santana was late. It wasn't even by a few minutes; it was nearly the middle of the period and she had yet to show. Mike bit unhappily into his sandwich; he was worried. Maybe Santana was a lot angrier than he realized. Mike looked around and noticed Sam walking pass and grabbed his arm.<p>

"Hey have you seen Santana?" Mike asked.

"Nope, not since earlier." Sam answered before continuing on.

Mike quickly finishes the rest of his sandwich and gets up to search for Santana. He stops in the middle of the hallway when he realizes he has no idea where to begin searching. Mike didn't want to risk using his cellphone to call her; teachers were really cracking down this year. Making his way towards the choir room, Mike notices a large group of kids huddled together and laughing.

"Holy shit she got her ass handed to her." One guy says.

"Serves that bitch right." A girl replies.

Mike frowned; there was a fight? He didn't like the way his stomach dropped. Mike made his way over to the group, "What happened?"

The first boy looked over, "Santana Lopez tried to take on Zizes and got her ass kicked." The rest of the group burst into laughter.

"She had to be carried off by Coach Beiste." Another said.

Mike felt nauseated; Santana was hurt enough that she had to be carried? Mike didn't know what urge was greater, the need to yell at these kids for their callousness or the need to find Santana.

"Here look it's on youtube." A girl says as she holds up her phone. Mike was horrified by what he was being shown; how could anyone cheer at someone being tossed around like that? He flinched every time Santana was thrown into a locker.

"About time someone put her in her place." The girl said smugly and Mike glared at her.

"That's not funny. She could be seriously hurt." Mike snapped, quieting the entire group. He turned from them and quickly pulled out his phone; teachers be damned.

Mike continues his search as Santana's phone goes to voicemail yet again. Turning the corner and groaning in frustration, Mike hears a muffled cry. He stops and listens quietly after a moment and hears it again from further down the hallway. Mike runs in that direction and sees Santana just outside the main office.

"Santana!" Mike's eyes widen as they fall upon her. She had tears streaming down her face and she leaned heavily on the doorframe breathing laboriously. Mike frowned when he noticed a bruise starting to form on her face; it sort of looked like a hand.

"My ribs hurt." Santana groaned out, snapping Mike out of his internal assessment of her injuries.

"Okay, um, how hurt? Like 'I need to rest' type hurt or 'take me to the hospital' type hurt?" Mike asked in a panic.

"I don't know, they hurt really bad." Santana says struggling to take a deep breath. Mike moves closer and gently pokes her ribs. Santana yelps out in pain and starts to cough as sobs rack her body.

"Shit, this is really bad. We should take you to the nurse." Mike says feeling guilty for causing the girl even more pain than she was already in.

"I tried that, the nurse isn't here. Coach Beiste is trying to call my parents but they aren't answering." Santana says before moving to lean against the wall. She hissed in pain and stood straight. Mike notices Santana's eyes take on a slightly glassy and unfocused look; a look he's seen many times when playing football.

Coach Beiste walks out of the office with a look of annoyance on her face, "I can't reach your parents Santana. Maybe we should call an ambulance."

"It's okay Coach, I can take her." Mike said bringing Beiste's attention to him.

"Alright Chang, you get her there safely and I'm explain the situation to both of your teachers." She said and Mike nods.

"Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital." Mike says helping Santana walk down the hall.

"My head is killing me." Santana mumbles from beside him.

"Okay, we'll get the doctors to look at that too but I need you to stay awake."

* * *

><p>The ride to the hospital was tense. Mike was too nervous to turn the radio on so the silence was filled with Santana's strangled breathing. Glancing over, Mike saw Santana's eyes droop close before she snapped them open and tried to stay awake; he pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. A small voice in the back of his mind was telling him that he was breaking about five traffic laws but Santana's pain filled whimpers made him ignore it.<p>

Pulling in front of the emergency room, Mike quickly, and as carefully as he could, lead Santana into the emergency room. An attendant takes one look at Santana, who's wheezing and crying, and quickly admits her. Mike sits down in the nearest chair in the waiting room and lets out a shaky breath of relief. He couldn't believe this was happening, what would posses Santana to do something as reckless as challenge Lauren? It just didn't make any sense. Mike briefly entertained the thought that his helping Artie with his performance prompted this recent bought of recklessness. He quickly stopped that path of thought; Mike couldn't bear the thought of possibly causing Santana to feel so low that she would put herself in danger.

Since he had to stop himself from constantly looking at the clock every two minutes, Mike had lost track of how much time he spent waiting for word of Santana's condition. Looking at the clock, Mike realized that two hours had passed and he suppressed the urge to go up the nurse and beg for information on Santana. Mike shifted uncomfortably in his chair and fumbled around with some nearby magazines; school should be ending in another hour.

"Mike Chang I presume?" A voice from above brought Mike from his musings.

Looking over Mike saw a doctor standing next to him, "Yeah, that's me."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Shaw. Your friend is going to be alright. Fortunately her ribs aren't broken but only bruised. We've given her medication for the pain but she does have a mild concussion and we're going to keep her overnight just to be safe." She explained.

"Can I see her?" Mike asked.

"Sure follow me."

Mike quickly gets up and follows the doctor towards Santana's room. She knocked on the door to alert Santana that she was no longer alone before leaving the two of them alone. They were completely silent as Mike walked over and looked Santana over. It didn't matter if the doctor said Santana was going to be okay, he had to see it for himself.

"Mike…" Santana said quietly, breaking the silence.

Mike let out a strangled sigh, "You really scared me."

"I'm sorry."

"Why did you have to start that fight?" Mike asked angrily; he didn't like to think what would happen if Coach hadn't stepped in.

"She was trying to steal my man." Santana tried defending.

"Really? How long are you going to keep this up? Is it even worth it? I mean you're lying in the hospital right now! Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that all of what you're putting yourself through is worth it?!" Mike snapped. Santana opened and closed her mouth before staying silent.

"What would've happened if Coach Beiste hadn't stopped things? Lauren is one of the top wrestlers in the division, what the fuck possessed you to start a fight with her and think you could win? You just…" Mike wiped angrily at the tears that made their way down his face. Hearing a sob from Santana caused to calm down a little.

Taking a deep breath Mike looked over to his friend. Santana had her hand to her mouth to muffle her cries, her face showing shame and regret. Mike felt his heart clench, he couldn't stand seeing Santana cry but he had to hold his ground; she had to realize just how dangerous things could've gotten.

Mike grabbed Santana's hand, causing her to look at him, "I was terrified, seeing you hurt like that was one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced. I wish you wouldn't do things to put yourself in danger like that."

"I-I just wanted someone. I'm tired of being alone and Puck… he was always my backup plan." Santana replied quietly once she got her crying under control and Mike sighs in response.

"I just want to be normal; I can't… be that way." Santana continues.

Mike turns to her, "And what way would that be?"

"You know." Santana said as she shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Mike could see her inner conflict written clearly on her face. At least they were making progress… again.

"I think we need more descriptive words for this conversation to move forward." Mike replied trying to inch Santana a little closer to coming to terms with her feelings. Santana swallowed and Mike could see her nervously eye the open door. He quickly got up and closed the door, cutting off various noises from the hallway.

"As you were saying?" Mike prompted as he sat back down.

Santana stayed quiet for a few moments, "I can't be…g-…I-I can't like girls."

Mike could see how much Santana struggled just to say the word 'gay' and it saddened him. It was horrible to think that someone could be so afraid to be themselves because of others.

"My parents would kill me, so-so I choose to be straight." Santana continued.

Mike's brow furrowed, "Santana, your sexuality isn't something you can choose."

"Sure it is and I've chosen to be straight." Santana replied confidently as she folded her arms.

"But are you happy? Mike asked. The silence enveloped them once again and Mike watched as Santana's face fell at his question. Santana frowned and stared uncomfortably at her lap and Mike had a strong urge to wrap her up in his arms and make all her sadness and confusion go away. Mike hated that the world was so crappy and that Santana had to go through this; he just wanted her to be happy.

Before Mike could speak again, someone knocked on the door before opening it. He turned to see a tall male doctor come into the room and frown at the both of them.

"Hi daddy." Santana greeted nervously. Mike's eyes widened; that was her father? The guy was huge.

"Santana." Mr. Lopez greeted stoically before turning his attention to Mike.

"Daddy this is Mike. Mike this is my dad." Santana introduced.

Mike jumped up nervously and shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you sir."

"Likewise, now if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to my daughter alone." Mr. Lopez replied and Mike could tell when he was being dismissed.

"Sure, I'll see you later Santana." Mike said as he left the room as quickly as he could without looking suspicious. Santana's father was all types of intimidating; he did not want to be on that man's bad side. Looking down at his phone, Mike saw that he still had a few minutes before school let out and would be able to make it back in time for glee.

* * *

><p>By the time Mike made it to the school glee had already started. Since he was already late, Mike didn't put too much effort into rushing to the choir room. Walking down the hallway, Mike makes a stop at this locker to get his stuff for the weekend as he reflected over the past few hours. He did wonder how Santana was doing after her talk with her father and made a mental note to text her later. Around him Mike could hear people still gossiping about the fight earlier and it only served to further sour his mood.<p>

Mike stops outside the choir room and looks in. Rachel is in the middle of a performance and he waits patiently outside the door for her to end. He could tell it must have been a fun little number as everyone started to sing and dance along. They all looked so happy, lost in their own little world away from the harsh realities of life and in that moment Mike wished he was in there and today's whole situation never happened. When the song is over Mike takes a deep breath before entering the room, wincing slightly as everyone's attention is directed towards him.

"Mike where have you been? You're late." Rachel asked.

"Yeah man, you totally missed me telling everyone how my girl Lauren laid the smack down on Lopez." Puck boasted. Mike couldn't believe his ears, Puck was actually proud of someone he knew getting hurt?

"Wait, you were there?" Mike asked.

"Yup, front row seats. You should've seen the look on Santana's face when shit got real." Puck laughed and Lauren brushed imaginary dust off her shoulders.

"You didn't think to put a stop to things?" Mike asked as his eyes narrowed. He could feel his anger bubbling to the surface and Mike took a deep breath to calm down.

"Why would I? Lauren can handle herself in a fight. She didn't need any help." Puck shrugged and Mike clenched and unclenched his hands to keep back the urge to lash out; he's had enough violence for today.

"I was talking about Santana-" Mike started but was cut off by Lauren.

"Look she started it and I finished it."

"Honestly Mike, if Santana can't back herself maybe she shouldn't start fights." Rachel added as a few others nodded.

"Damn straight." Lauren agreed.

"It was just a little harmless little fight." Puck stated with a shrug.

Mike chuckled darkly, "Yeah, so harmless that I had to take Santana to the hospital."

"What?!" Brittany yelled out before the room broke out in chaos.

* * *

><p>Mike fell face first into his bed and made no attempt to move; glee was a disaster. After calming down a hysterical Brittany, Mike calmly explained what happened. To everyone's shock Brittany rounded on Puck and ripped him a new asshole for not stopping the fight when it got serious.<p>

A vibration from his pocket lets Mike know that he has a call. After lazily fishing out his phone and looking at the caller ID, he sees that it's Santana.

"Hello?" Mike says.

"I'm assuming from the mass influx of concerned calls you told everyone?" Santana said instead of a greeting.

Mike sat up, "Yeah, you missed Brittany tearing into Puck for not stepping in and stopping things."

Santana laughed before he heard her hiss in pain, "Damn, I would've paid to see that."

"Yeah, but other than that are you okay?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, my dad was pissed. Things are already shitty between us and this didn't help." Santana replied and Mike could hear the sadness in her voice.

"I'm sure things will get better Santana." Mike said hoping his words would give her some comfort.

Santana chuckled before sighing, "You sound like one of those videos."

"You've been watching 'It gets better' videos?" Mike asked in confusion. It was suddenly very silent and Mike had to check to make sure the line hadn't disconnected.

"Santana? You still there?"

"…yes." The silence stretched between them as Mike struggled to figure out how to handle the situation.

"Did it help?" He opted to ask instead of drawing attention to Santana's admission.

"A little." Santana replied and Mike could hear her shifting around.

"Mike?' Santana sounded the most unsure he's ever heard her sound.

"I-I'm…" She started and Mike licked his lips in anticipation.

"I-I think I'm-" Santana tries again before her voice breaks and fails her. Mike could feel his palms become sweaty once he realizes what Santana's trying to do.

Santana sighs and Mike can hear her choke back a sob, "I can't."

"It's okay. I'm here. Whenever you're ready I'm here." Santana no longer attempts to hold back her sobs and Mike spends the rest of their phone call saying comforting words until Santana cries herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Mike awoke that morning feeling as well rested as he cold given his previous evening. He couldn't believe that Santana nearly came out to him. Mike couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face; it didn't matter that Santana couldn't say the words, at least she wanted to. Mike rolled out of bed and loaded up his 'Call of Duty', he was determined to not do anything constructive today. About an hour into his playtime Mike heard a knock on his door.<p>

Pausing the game he looked over, "Hey mom."

Mrs. Chang stood in the doorway already dressed for the day, "Breakfast is ready."

"Okay." Mike gets up and follows his mother to the kitchen where his father was already seated. He greeted his father before grabbing a plate.

"So how has your week been?" Mr. Chang asked.

"I don't really know how to describe it. Santana got into a fight yesterday."

Mrs. Chang gasped, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, they kept her overnight because of her concussion."

"Wait, 'they' as in Santana had to be admitted?" Mr. Chang asked.

Mike nodded, "Lauren threw her across the hall into the lockers a few times. Fortunately she only bruised her ribs instead of breaking them."

"That poor girl." Mrs. Chang commented before moving onto another topic. Mike had just finished eating when he heard his phone start ringing from his room.

Bounding up to his room he answered it, "Hello?"

"'Sup danceman, how's it going?" Santana greeted happily.

"What?"

"Or you know pop n' fresh, whatever you want." Santana stated.

Mike smiled; at least she was in a better mood, "Are you out of the hospital yet?"

"Yeah, although now I'm stuck with my mother as she goes on her daily shopping trip." Santana replied sourly.

"You're walking around? Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"I'm sitting on a bench. At least it's better than sitting in the car but all I wanna do is sleep." Santana replied.

"How long do you think she's gonna take?" Mike asked.

"She's only on her first store. I'll say I got another three hours. Hey maybe I'll even get up and go on a shopping spree myself." Santana joked.

Mike chuckled, "Just stay there, I'll come get you."

"Mike you don't have to. They've got me on some pretty good painkillers so I'm not in pain." Santana resisted.

"Look you need to rest. I'm coming to get you and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." Mike stated as he gathered some clothes.

Santana laughed, "Fine, I'll just be sitting here."

* * *

><p>Mike walked through the mall carefully keeping an eye out for Santana. He couldn't believe that Mrs. Lopez would just ignore Santana's condition in order to shop. If he was being honest with himself, Mike didn't really expect Mrs. Lopez to suddenly become doting mother of the year. Out of the corner of his eye Mike sees Santana sitting on a bench a few feet away staring at people. Santana catches sight of him and smiles as he walks over.<p>

"We really should stop meeting like this." Santana joked.

"Is this your way of saying you don't want to see me again?" Mike joked back. Santana smiled in response before she looked off to the side and her smile slowly faded.

"What's wrong?" Mike frowned.

"That's Quinn and Finn." Santana said as she pointed to his left. Mike turned and saw Quinn walking alongside Finn who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Maybe they're just hanging out, like us." Mike defended and Santana scoffed.

"Sure and my name is Mary-Ann."

Mike opened his mouth to further defend them but his protest died in his throat as Finn bent down and kissed Quinn. Mike closed his mouth and swallowed. Beside him he heard a quiet click and he turend to see Santana taking a picture.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked as Santana's fingers moved over her phone furiously.

"Defending Sam's honor." She replied as she sat her phone down and looked towards Finn and Quinn. Mike turns back to the two and watches as they part and pull their phones out. Quinn looks up frantically before zeroing in on their location and storming over.

"What the hell is this Santana?" Quinn growls.

"What does it look like Blondie?" Santana replies smugly and Quinn frowns.

"It's not what it looks like." Quinn starts trying to explain.

"You know, they say a picture is worth a thousand words but all that one is saying is 'cheater'. So this is how things are gonna go down, you woman up and tell Sam how you clearly didn't learn your lesson with Puck or I will." Santana threatens and Mike could see Quinn flinch at the mention of Puck's name. A part of him was curious as to what was going on with Quinn but a larger part of him was upset that she was cheating on his friend.

"Fine." Quinn sighed out dejectedly before she grabbed Finn and left.

"I can't believe her." Santana grumbled.

"Come on, let's get you home." Mike said and helped Santana to the car. The ride was spent in a comfortable silence and it wasn't long before Mike pulled into Santana's driveway. The silence was starting to become awkward when Mike felt something being tossed into his lap. Looking down he saw a pill bottle and looked at Santana with confusion.

Santana looked down and fiddled with her hands, "I still don't trust myself. I mean there's enough in there to drop an elephant, what if I'm tempted again?"

Santana looked up and Mike could see the fear clearly written in her face. Mike grabbed the bottle and looked over with determination, "Don't worry I'll help you."

Santana smiled and Mike felt like he did the right thing.

* * *

><p>Monday, Valentine's Day, and love was in the air. Mike walked into the school and noticed the halls were covered in decorations. All around him he could see people coupled up and showing their love for each other in very cliché ways. Mike tried not to think about Tina but he couldn't help but wonder what if would be like to spend Valentine's with a very special someone. Mike sighed and followed Santana down the hall to her locker.<p>

"Are you sure you should be in school today?" Mike asked full of concern.

"I'm fine, according to my father anyways. He came home long enough to clear me for school and then left. He's spending even less time at home now since he found out about the affair. Half the time I think he's moved out then I see him at home and everything's just awkward." Santana explained.

"Oh man." Mike shook his head.

"I rather not talk about it though."

"Okay. Are you gonna need help with your books after class?" Mike changes the subject as he shifts both their bookbags.

"No, Brittany can help but I can manage. The last thing I want to do is make you late for all your classes."

"I don't mind really. I just don't want you making your injuries worse." Mike said.

Santana smiled, "It's okay, I just won't put my stuff on the floor."

They stopped at Santana's locker to get her things for the day. Mike really hated that Santana was in school today; she should be resting. He could clearly see how she was struggling to pretend she wasn't in pain. Why couldn't her parents let her take a day off?

"Awww look at that, the perfect loving boyfriend. Can I get a few words from the school's 'It' couple?" Jacob asks.

Mike turns to see Jacob and his camera man standing next to them nearly close enough to be considered breaching their personal space. Mike seriously wanted to slap his microphone out of his hand and throw it down the hallway; so many of his recent life problems have popped up because of this gossip hound.

"Go away Jewfro I'm not in the mood." Santana snaps. Mike places a hand on her shoulder and she calms down.

"Look Jacob, just leave." It wasn't until the boy left that Mike realized exactly what Jacob said. Mike nearly slapped himself; the whole school thought they were dating, a rumor that he didn't refute. Mike groans.

"I really can't stand that little cretin." Santana says as she continues to riffle through her locker.

"Did you not hear what he just said?" Mike asked.

Santana looks at him in surprise, "No, was it important?"

"He asked for an interview from the 'It' couple. We didn't exactly set him straight on that little fact." Mike explained.

Santana rolls her eyes, "So go correct him." The bell rings and Mike sighs; it was going to be impossible to get to Jacob before he updated his blog. Mike shakes his head and follows Santana to her class.

* * *

><p>Mike was correct about his original assumption; Jacob had updated his blog by homeroom and Mike had to deal with all of the gossip and congratulations that he received. Mike was already annoyed with the day and it wasn't even halfway done. Mike heads to the cafeteria and walks over to his usual table. He's met with the sight of a miserable Santana picks miserably at the plate before her.<p>

"Is everything alright?" Mike asks while sitting down.

"No, my painkillers wore off and I'm really starting to feel all the moving around I did today." Santana answers as she takes a fortify breath to keep from crying.

"Why didn't you tell me? Here." Mike says as he quickly pulls out her required dose and hands it to her. Santana swallows the pills down in silence.

"You have to tell me when your medicine wears off so I can give you more." Mike reprimands lightly.

"I thought I could make it through my last class." Santana says quietly.

"It's okay but you don't have to suffer unnecessarily. I don't mind getting a break from class. Matter of fact, how about I just leave you with a few at the beginning of school and then you can take them if you need them?" Mike compromises and Santana nods with a smile. Santana opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Sam who angrily sat down at the table.

''I can't believe her." Sam growled out angrily.

"Who?" Mike asked.

"Quinn, she just told me that she and Finn kissed. I can't believe she would break my trust like that. I knew something was going on between them." Sam ranted. Mike just sat there in silence; at least Quinn told him some of the truth. Santana huffed from beside him and Mike knew that she was holding back. Mike was happy and a little proud of her for not telling Sam out of spite; maybe she learned her lesson too.

"Thanks guys." Sam said after a moment.

"For what?" Santana asked.

"For not immediately bashing Quinn, even though you wanted to."

"B-" Santana started.

"No, don't deny it Santana, I saw it in your face. I'm angry and upset with Quinn but I still care about her you know." Sam stated and Mike nodded; he knew exactly how Sam felt. Mike looked down as he felt a twinge of longing for Tina; he missed her greatly. They continued through lunch on a slightly better note when all of their phones went off. Mike pulled out his phone and saw he had a text from Kurt.

"Hey did you just get a text from Kurt?" Sam asked.

"Inviting us to a warbler performance? Yeah." Mike answered.

"How in the ever loving hell did he get my number?" Santana asked in confusion. Mike looks away guiltily as Santana stares at him.

"You gave Kurt my number!" Santana accused.

"He was leaving." Mike used in way of defense and Santana continued to glare at him.

"So we're going right?" Sam asked in an attempt to diffuse the situation before him.

Santana snorts, "I don't know about you two but I'm not."

"Why not?" Mike asks.

"Why? So the entire world can know that I'm single and don't have a date on Valentine's Day? I'll pass."

"But it's Kurt." Mike argues and Santana rolls her eyes.

"We could always go together." Sam states.

Santana crosses her arms and huffs, "Fine, I'll go." Mike and Sam smile at each other as Santana grumbles into her lunch.

* * *

><p>Mike couldn't wait for glee to finish. It was starting to become uncomfortable the closer it got to Tina's turn to sing. Mike really didn't want to see how this would turn out and silently curses Mr. Shue for not thinking this week's lesson through. He silently braces himself as Tina makes her way to the front and starts to sing. She doesn't get through half the song before she breaks down in tears. Mike hesitates before Santana pushes him out of his seat.<p>

"Go to her." Santana whispers. Mike nods and runs over to Tina to comfort her and lead her out of the room. He leads her down the hall further away from the choir room so that they could have a little privacy.

"I'm sorry." Tina says as she calms down.

"It's okay." Mike replies awkwardly.

"It's just- it's really hard to sing a love song knowing we're not together anymore." Tina explains.

Mike puts his hands in his pocket, "You broke up with me."

"And I really regret that. It's just Santana-"

"Has nothing to do with this." Mike interrupted.

"Doesn't she? Santana is known for getting in between couples." Tina argues.

"Only she didn't, you did Tina, you broke us up not Santana." Mike states trying to stay calm. The argument was always the same. Why couldn't Tina understand that it's her jealousy and trust issues that broke them up and not Santana?

Tina deflates, "I know and I really regret it. You have to believe me." Mike shuffles uncomfortably and stays silent; he didn't expect that response.

"It was really suspicious you know?" Tina says suddenly.

"What was?"

"You two becoming friends, I mean she acted like you didn't even exist and then the next thing I know, you're the best of friends and defending her." Tina explains.

Mike shrugs, "She was going through a hard time and really needed a friend, I stepped up."

"But she has Brittany." Tina stated.

"Didn't you notice they had a falling out? They just started getting somewhat near the way they used to be." Mike said incredulously.

"What? When did that happen?" Tina asks completely shocked at the revelation.

"I'm not sure, around the time Brittany started dating Artie I think."

"I… wow, I didn't notice." Tina sighs, "I just got so jealous seeing you give another girl attention."

"I figured all the gossip didn't help either." Mike said trying to lighten the mood.

Tina smiled slightly, "Yeah, I suppose it didn't." Her smile dropped and she became serious, "I really want us to try again."

Mike felt his own mood somber and looked to the ground as he gathered his thoughts. Did he really want to get back with Tina? That didn't seem like the right question; of course he did but was he ready?

"Mike?" Tina question as the silence continued on.

"I do want to try again, I really do." Mike said slowly.

"I feel a 'but' in there somewhere."

"Are we ready?" Mike asked looking up. "Our problems are still problems. We haven't solved anything. I'm not going to stop being friends with Santana. I'm still going to hang out, each lunch and help her out when she needs it. Nothing's going to change, so I need to know if you're ready for that."

Tina hesitates, "I can't say I won't have my moments of jealousy but I'm willing to try, that's all I can give you now."

"We would have to go slow. I can't go through what we went through again, the constant arguing and the distrust. It really hurt me to know you didn't trust me." Mike says.

"We'll take things as slow as you need. I'm willing to prove that I'm serious about this." Tina replies.

"Okay."

"Okay? Really?" Tina asks excitedly.

"Yeah." Mike chuckles as Tina excitedly jumps into his arms and kisses him. The kiss quickly heats up and Mike can't believe how much he missed something as simple as a kiss. Mike could've kissed Tina forever but they were interrupted by a throat clearing beside them. Mike separated from Tina and looked over to see Santana beside them.

"I see congratulations are in order, I guess the two of you are going to Kurt's little thing together."

"Oh, I-" Mike starts completely flustered but stops when Santana holds up her hand. She walks between them and faces Tina.

"Listen up girl Chang and listen good 'cuz Imma only say it once. Mike's my boy so if you hurt him or dump his ass in the cold like you did last time, Imma go beyond Lima Heights and they'll never find your body. You got that?"Santana says menacingly as she steps further into Tina's personal space causing her to take a step back.

Tina nods frantically, "Y-yeah, I understand."

Santana smiles brightly, "Good." She turns to Mike, "I'll meet you by the car.

"Wait, give me your bag."

"It's not that heavy." Santana replies but Mike can see the pain that she's trying to hide.

"Just humor me okay?" Mike asks and Santana hesitates before handing her bag to him.

"Just don't forget about me while you're playing tonsil hockey okay?" Santana jokes.

Mike chuckles, "Sure, I'll be out soon." Santana huffs, the deep breath making her wince, before she continues down the hall.

"I thought you said she was fine? Why can't she carry her own bag?" Tina asked.

"Bruised ribs take a few weeks to heal. She's well enough to attend school but she's still in a lot of pain, her meds only do so much." Mike explains as the walk to his locker and he starts to gather his things.

"Oh, you weren't kidding about helping her out. You know about her medication?"

"I kinda have to; I'm in charge of them." Mike says distractedly before he realizes what he's said and freezes.

"What?" Tina asks as her brow furrows in confusion.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. I'll see you at Breadstix tonight." Mike says while closing his locker. He kisses Tina on the cheek and makes his way out of the school.

Mike quickly makes his way to the car where Santana is lazily staring out into the distance. He takes a moment to notice how peaceful she looks when she thinks she's alone.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mike says breaking the silence and opening up the car.

"Just thinking about you and Tina getting back together." Santana answers and Mike does a double take; he didn't expect to be the current object of her thoughts.

"You aren't mad are you?" Mike asks.

"No, I'm really happy for you. You haven't been able to keep that goofy smile off your face for more than a minute." Santana smirks and Mike chuckled, "I'm just worried she'll hurt you again."

Mike nodded as he pulled out of the parking lot and started making their way to Breadstix, "I'm worried about that too but she's trying to make things work. Plus I think you scared her enough to not try anything funny." Mike replied and Santana laughed.

* * *

><p>The outing to Breadstix was going beautifully. Not only did Mike get to spend the evening with Tina, he also got to see Kurt. He hadn't realized how much he missed Kurt until he was standing in front of him. The Warbler's performance was good and Mike even had a small chuckle at the offended look on Santana's face when the one warbler sang to her; even if the lyrics he sang were in poor taste. As Mike finished up his food, he looked over and saw that Santana had joined Sam at his table and was currently laughing at something he said. Everyone was happy and enjoying themselves; the night couldn't have been more perfect.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I won't write a whole paragraph of excuses but I had the worse case of writer's block that I've ever had in my life and I also fell out of love with Glee (I don't even watch it anymore). Thanks to everyone who sent out reviews that stabbed me in the heart with guilt and motivated my get off my ass and try to get though the block. As always, until next time.<strong>


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